Seasonal Conflicts
by Deer Flower
Summary: There was another group of seasonal elements before the current ones. They were locked away many years ago but now they are back. To protect Julia,Emerald,Rowan, and Jack, Mother Nature turns them mortal in hopes the other four wouldn't find them. Unfortunately, they're just as vulnerable and now it's up to the Guardians and MN to find them before the others do. No pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Like most people, this story has continually been stuck in my mind for… I say about a month, maybe two, possibly three. Now that school is out though, I actually have time to write it! Well for now anyway.

Any who, this idea came one day all those months ago when I thought to myself, "_Since Jack didn't become Frost until the late 1600s/ early 1700s, there must have been another spirit of winter._" Well after a lot more thought and questioning, the idea eventually manifested itself into this story.

Normally I wouldn't post multi-chapter stories unless I already have a bunch of chapters written. (which is why there's a bunch of stuff on my flash drive that has been abandoned/forgotten). However, I'm going to try my best to stick with this one and hopefully the outline I typed out can help keep me on track.

Okay I'm going to stop rambling and present you with this first chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing with Rise of the Guardians. The movie belongs to DreamWorks and the novels belong to William Joyce (there're really good so I highly suggest you read them). The other seasons are imaginary and any relation to actual persons is entirely coincidental.

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Summer was letting go of its control in the Northern hemisphere as the autumn season took hold. The temperatures began to cool off, a welcome relief to those who had just experienced the blazing heat, and plants started to let go of life as hibernating animals started preparing for winter and their expected, long sleep.

A young woman with red-hair scanned the earth below with dim orange eyes, looking for a certain person. The wind lazily carried her across the North American continent, gently blowing through the woman's long hair and causing her bangs to block her vision for a few seconds. "Must we always go through this, Wind?" she asked, using one hand to pull her bangs back.

The Wind's response was to continue its actions while ruffling the girl's light blue dress held up by thin straps on her shoulders. Reaching a little below her knees, the dress tangled itself in her tanned legs and made it difficult to notice the red spiral pattern that started at the hem and branched up until it ended around her waist. The pattern continued up, only in orange until it reached her breast before continuing on the top in yellow.

Shaking her head, the woman lightly stroked a sun charmed necklace on a simple silver chain. The center of the sun held a dark red ruby that was surrounded by a light orange stone, which in turn was surrounded by a yellow stone. The sun rays began to lightly grow yellow as the setting sun's light touched the charm. Feeling the difference of the Earth's tilt, she continued searching until her eyes finally caught a small figure approaching from the direction she was heading toward.

Smiling, she said, "Wind, let's pick up the pace!" Pleased to have an opportunity to show off, the wind propelled its passenger forward and did the same to the other figure. In less than a minute, the woman could make out the appearance of her target.

Before the two could crash into each other, the wind let them go for a minute. Despite rapidly falling from the sky, the two just let out a small laugh and leaned back as the wind once again took a hold of them. The newcomer, a boy with dark brown hair and red streaks, smiled at the woman as his brown eyes with amber specks looked into her orange ones. "No long no see, right Julia?" he asked, still feeling a rush from their recent free fall.

"Right, Rowan," she replied, feeling the same as her companion. "I take it you had a nice break?" "Yep," he answered, putting one hand in his brown pants while another took out a simple paintbrush from behind his ear, "though I am ready to test out some new shades on these trees. I've been tired of using the same shades for the last hundred years so I've been working on coming up with some new ones."

"I can tell you've been working," Julia stated, staring at the other's paint stained pants and shirt. The original twisting leave patterns that were usually displayed on his light brown shirt were covered up by different shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown. Even the dark cloak he wore did not escape the paint. The only thing not covered in paint was Rowan's skin, except for his fingers and the bottom of his feet.

Noticing her stare, he let out a small laugh. "Well I had to find something to keep me entertained. Any who, anything new or strange happen while I was out?" Shrugging Julia replied, "Not really. There have been a few tragedies but people are coming back, some new species have been discovered, probably Emerald's works that had escaped years ago, and scientist and environmentalist are saying that if the ice caps don't stop melting, the coasts are going to be flooded."

"Isn't the ice caps Jack's job?" Rowan asked, tapping his finger on the brush. "Yes, but with the weather heating up it's getting a more difficult to balance everything out. You should have seen some of the places I've been to. I used the same amount of heat I've always been using, but the extra heat from the air made everything about five times warmer." Letting out a low whistle, he straightened up a little saying, "Looks like I got my work cut out for me this time. Hopefully I can cool things down before Jack brings winter in. Speaking of the spirit, is he still wor-"

The boy stopped as he caught some movement heading from the south. Julia followed his gaze and also caught sight of the distraction. When it got closer, Julia rolled her eyes while Rowan let out another whistle saying, "Speaking of the spirit." The two gaze each other a quick stare before asking the wind to take them south.

They were finally close enough to see a white haired boy laughing as he was being chased by an angry woman. "Jack Frost!" she screamed, blonde hair wildly flying behind her as her bright green eyes stayed locked on the winter spirit's back. "Stay still for one minute so I can properly beat some sense into that ice-cold, big head of yours!"

"Why don't you relax, Em?" Jack said, stopping as the other approached him before letting himself fall as she got within arms' reach. The wind picked the boy back up and helped the boy dodge another grab from the other. "It's not like I destroyed anything." "Didn't destroy anything?!" she yelled, ducking as a snowball was thrown at her. "You ruined nearly a year's worth of my new seeds! Now I have to go back and rebreed almost everything!"

Jack had to duck when the girl's fist almost collided with the side of his face. As the other recovered, he quickly pulled away and gained a three second head start over the other. The only way to find the two was to follow a blue blur and Emerald's vine patterned dark green skirt. The two were moving so fast the other two couldn't make out the leave patterns on the girl's light green shirt or the headband that contained a bright emerald stone in the shape of a sprouting leaf.

Julia and Rowan stopped themselves about 40 yards from the other two, waiting for them to either 1) talk out whatever the problem was or 2) act as shields for Jack if Emerald decided to throw some of her poison thorns at him. By the way things were looking though, they figured it would probably be the second one.

The blonde didn't seem to notice the other two but as Jack turned around and caught sight of them, he let out one of his mischievous smiles and formed another snowball. When Emerald got close, this time prepared to throw one of her famous poison thorns at him, Jack flew above her and threw the snowball at the back of her head. It hit its mark and Emerald lost her grip on the thorn as her head began to spin. Sparkles of blue twinkled around her but it didn't seem to have any effect on her as she turned back around.

Deciding to intervene before Emerald brought out another thorn, Rowan hooked his arms under Jack's arms while Julia wrapped one of her arms around Emerald's waist while the other hand held the girl's weapon arm. "Let me go Julia so I can repeatedly stab that jerk in the chest! Rowan, do you think you can continue to hold him down? It will help make sure I don't accidently stab one of you." The girl's usual gentle voice was filled with anger as she continued trying to escape from the other girl's hold.

Jack, surprisingly, stayed still in Rowan's hold as he stared the girls with what looked to be fear. "Rowan, please don't let the crazy plant lady repeatedly stab me with one of her poison thorns." The other boy appeared to think deeply about the other's request and said, "I might help you if you explain what happened."

"It wasn't my fault, really," Jack stated, flinching when he heard his name put together with various threats and curses. "She knows I always leave a lot of snow in the Andes so it's her fault for storing her extremely weather sensitive plant seeds there." "And you agreed to hold off some of your snow so I could store them there!" Emerald added, causing Jack to earn a look from Rowan and Julia.

"I did, but some guys were snooping around and were close to finding the entrance. I had to start that blizzard so they wouldn't find your experiments." When the other three heard his explanation, Rowan and Julia looked at Emerald, who seemed torn between holding onto to her anger and thanking the other for keeping her stuff safe. "Is that what happened, Emerald?" Julia asked, letting go of the girl's arm and loosening her hold around the waist. Rowan also let go of Jack but made sure to keep a firm grip on his arm.

"I'm not sure," she started, "but that does make sense now. I heard that the people were up there when the blizzard started but I didn't know they were getting close to discovering my cave." She took a deep breath and continued, "I'm sorry for trying to stab you, Jack. I've been looking forward to planting those so when I found that they were ruined, I kind of got a little carried away."

Seeing that both had calmed down, Julia and Rowan let them go. Emerald stayed in place, awkwardly biting her lip and twirling a strand of her shoulder length hair. Jack cast his eyes down for a moment before flying to the girl. She turned away when he placed his hand on her shoulder, both ignoring the light trail of frost that appeared. "Hey don't beat yourself up too much. I could have done something a little less… extreme way to chase them away."

Knowing that the winter spirit had forgiven her for trying to kill him, Emerald gave him a soft smile and gently took his hand off. She might be the spirit of spring, but that didn't mean she overly enjoyed the freezing cold. "Well it seems that the apocalypse has been avoided for another day." "Way to kill the moment, Rowan," Julia said, not able to hide her smile as the three of them began laughing.

By the time they stopped, the sun had already set and a full moon was rising in the sky. Reminded of his previous question, Rowan turned to Jack and asked, "So Frost, are you still working with the Guardians? Or have you moved on to better things?" "Yeah I am," Jack answered. "And no, I can barely manage two jobs right now."

"If it's so difficult to manage," Emerald started, "why continue looking after a bunch of kids that only love you when you get them out of school?" "Or only believe in you when you bring snow and blizzards?" "Or eventually stop believing in you?" As each question was asked, Jack found his smile slowly form into a straight line. This wasn't the first time they had asked questions such as this. After officially becoming Guardian, the three of them immediately wanted to know why he would agree to basically become dependent on children for his existence.

He tried explaining how great he felt being able to finally be seen by children and be openly appreciated for his work, but none of the other three seemed to understand. They never did show an interest in being seen by humans or being personally thanked for their work. All that mattered to them was making sure they followed their job and helped keep the balance of the Earth. While he also tried to do his job, his need to watch over and protect the children of the world was what made him a Guardian. However, he's also the only Guardian that basically has a second job to do, which is to help bring winter to the world. No matter which group he considered himself to be a part of, he was still an outcast.

Pushing his negative thoughts aside, Jack let out a forced smile and answered, "It's just like I've been telling you. Being able to make a difference in a kid's life just feels amazing and even when the kids grow up and stop believing, there's still millions more that I can impact. Does that help any of you understand?"

None of them were able to look him in the eye before turning away. While they did feel happy that they're youngest sibling had finally found his place, they still didn't see the bid deal about it. Knowing that he still hadn't reached them, Jack just let out a sigh and looked up at the moon. Its bright light cast off a slight glow over the group and Jack could sense that Manny was trying to comfort him. Shaking his head, Jack turned to the others and said, "Well it's been nice meeting up with you guys, but I'm going to go ahead and head up north. North said he has some new toy idea he wants me to help with."

"Alright then, see you around," Rowan said, giving a small wave, "but not too early please. I want to make sure my newer shades go well with the season."

"Good-bye, Jack. And I'm very sorry again about trying to stab you," Emerald stated, turning away when she felt her face go red with embarrassment.

Julia just gave him a wave and the three watched as Jack flew quickly up north to the workshop. When they could no longer see him, Julia looked at the other two and said, "We better head to our spots, too. The next seasons are starting tomorrow."

"You know that the seasons don't have to happen on the same day every year, right?" Rowan asked, earning another eye roll from Julia. "Yes I know but this way it's easier to us to remember how long one season has lasted and keep up with the Earth's tilt."

"Yeah, yeah so you're always saying. In that case, later you two." Before they could get involved in a lengthy good-bye, Rowan took off somewhere north. The two women rolled their eyes and also headed to their destinations.

As each person headed out, the Earth became perfectly aligned on its axis. From his place on the moon, Manny studied the readings he was receiving and was about to retire for a few hours when he spotted some meteors heading towards the planet. After calculating their courses to make sure none were going to crash into Earth, he slightly relaxed to watch the flying debris. Unknown to him, one meteor was pulled from its path and ended up in the Earth's atmosphere.

While it was too small to cause much damage, something in its core briefly interfered with the planet's magnetic field. That brief moment was all it took for four beings, prisoned in secret places across the Earth, to escape.

In Antarctic, a large glacier buried deep below the ice sheets on the surface began to melt despite the freezing temperature of the water. Vegetation in part of a tropical rainforest began to decay and a cool breeze began to blow. Small plants started growing in a depression in the middle of the dessert where no rain had fallen for the past year. A cold wind began to flow in the area known as the Bermuda triangle and the ocean began to freeze solid.

Despite their limited strength, each being was able to break free of their prison and calmly looked toward the sky. Even though they were miles away from each other, one thought crossed all of their minds. '_It's time to reclaim what is ours_.'

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And now you have reached the end. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and my depiction of the other three elements. It took me a while to find names that would suit them because I'm horrible with coming up with names. Any who, hopefully I will have the next chapter posted sometime this week so please stick around for it. Thank you again for reading and feel free to review if you like. I enjoy hearing your thoughts and am open to a little constructive criticism, whether about the story itself, the characters, events, spelling, or grammar. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. See ya'll next time.


	2. Chapter 2

Before I say anything else, I will like to thank those of you have read this, favorited/ followed, and a big thank you for those that reviewed! I'm not to bummed about not getting reviews, but I do love hearing people's thoughts.

There's some slight (well I consider it slight) violence in this chapter so there's just that bit of warning. And I'm following with the book idea that Pitch is Mother Nature's father (dang I just spoiled it a little). Any who hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Rise of the Guardians. The movie belongs to DreamWorks and the books belong to William Joyce (once again, I highly recommend reading them). The seasons are imaginary characters and any relation to people in real life is pure coincidence.

* * *

Even though the southern hemisphere of the Earth was being tilted toward the sun, its light still had yet to fully illuminate the icy dessert of Antarctica. Only the light from the setting moon cast enough glow to help a woman examine a large jagged hole in the middle of a thick ice sheet. Her dark green dress that reached down to her wrists and covered her neck greatly stood out among the white landscape as she bent down to study the sharp corners.

Dark hair that almost touched her feet flew wildly in the raging wind but did not block her dark eyes as they scanned visible cracks around the hole and a large block of ice located miles below the water's surface. Taking a step back to find a better angle to investigate, she felt a warm breeze blow across her skin and sent a chill throughout her body.

She personally kept the temperature below freezing on the icy continent in order to keep the source of the breeze trapped. Unable to find anything on the icy surface, she dove into the water for a closer work. The temperature had little affect on her body and the water seemed to almost pull her toward her target.

Before she could hit the ice, the current stopped her and moved around the large block of ice to study the item itself. The woman couldn't find anything from the sides but swam up when she felt the current tug at her sleeve. She let it lift her up to the top of the block and found her eyes widening at the sight.

The one foot thick ice had a large crack in the center and seemed to have been caused by a rapid increase in temperature. When she placed her hand near the crack, the ice began to sizzle as the cold made contact with the surprisingly hot surface.

'_This can only mean one thing_,' she thought, frowning as she pulled her hand away. Her mood worsened as she felt the current wrap around her in agitation and _told_ her something strange was happening in the Sargasso Sea.

Closing her eyes, the woman let the current carry her off to the warmer waters near the Tropic of Cancer. As she passed South America, a glimpse of bright green told her Emerald was already at work bringing spring to the southern hemisphere. The young girl was flying around a forest and seemed to be searching for something.

Emerald halted her search however when she caught a flash of dark green soaring in the water. The wind automatically knew what the girl wanted when she pointed to the woman still moving in the water so it wasted no time in taking the girl forward. Waves shot up around the girl as she quickly caught up to the other woman, who allowed herself to stop so the other could catch up.

"Mother Nature!" Emerald greeted when the two made contact, "I haven't seen you in a while. Is everything okay?" The woman, now known as Mother Nature, gave the spring spirit a small smile and said, "I know it's been a while since I've talked with the four of you, but I'm afraid now is not the time to catch up."

Emerald's face fell a little until she caught sight of the seeds in her arms. Her face lit up once again as she quickly said, "Okay I understand but before you head out, could you help me restore these seeds? I've been looking for a good place to grow them but I'm having a hard time because of … a strange weather incident."

Mother Nature looked to the seeds to Emerald's begging eyes and found herself letting out a small sigh. "Alright, let me look at them." Almost dropping them in her excitement, Emerald handed her items to Mother Nature. The woman studied them for a moment before putting some of energy into the bundle in her arms.

The withered looking seeds instantly began to improve until it looked like they had never been damaged in the first place. Handing them back to Emerald, who quickly started saying 'thank you', Mother Nature gave her a small wave before letting the sea take hold of her once more.

As they continued traveling in the warm water, she felt a rapid temperature drop from one of the tropical areas. A few minutes later she found herself staring at a very unusual and disturbing sight. About a mile of ocean located dead center in the 'Bermuda Triangle' was frozen solid with spikes of ice sprouting from the surface.

Despite her better judgement, Nature left the water and stood on the ice sheet. While the freezing temperature didn't affect her, the sight of it there sent a large chill down her back. The wind wrapped itself around her in what seemed to be nervousness while the water greatly splashed on top of the ice, trying to melt the ice.

Without warning, great chunks of the ice started breaking off and floated out into the water. Almost instantly the frozen liquid started melting until all that was left of the original ice was a narrow path.

"Quit with the dramatics, Bradwr and Nina," Mother Nature said, narrowing her eyes. "I know you four are here, so just show yourselves." The rest of the ice began melting again until the only ice left was underneath her feet. The woman's eyes continuing staring straight ahead as the rest of her body straightened up.

A chuckle appeared out of nowhere along with another voice that said, "You never did enjoy having a little fun." "Oh she enjoys fun of course," a third person called out, "As long as it doesn't interfere with the whole 'world balance' thing." "And 'doesn't hurt the children'", a fourth said.

Mother Nature felt the wind begin to grow anxious as the air started cooling down. '_Just stay calm, old friend,_' she thought, watching as ice began forming in mid air. "But those rules are no fun to follow," the chuckling voice stated. "Oh but you better follow them, Nina. Otherwise you'll end up making 'mother' angry." "Just like she was angry at me for trying to help the humans evolve a little." "It was a wonderful idea, Bradwr. Unfortunately, 'mother' didn't believe that Ice Age you made helped."

"Nor did she enjoy Avalon's little critters, like her saber tooth cats or poisonous snakes," Bradwr called out. "At least she didn't get mad at you for doing your job. Poor Thanatos got yelled out for just killing off the plants, which was what he was supposed to be doing," Nina's voice stated. "It honestly shouldn't have been my fault that the humans were too slow to gather their crops," Thanatos commented, "one day should be more than enough time to harvest their crops." "And when our dear, sweet Nina tried warming everything up," Avalon added, "'mother' was furious because 'you're upsetting the delicate temperature of the planet'."

"Enough!" Mother Nature shouted, causing the water to churn and increase the wind's agitation. She kept her eyes on the still forming ice and commanded, "Show yourselves right now and maybe I'll to your little sob stories."

"We tried explaining ourselves to you," Thanatos stated from behind her. A flash of fear spread through Nature's body as she quickly turned around to study the four figures before her as they lazily sat on the chunks of ice that hung in mid air. "But you were not willing to listen," Avalon finished, casting the woman a dark smile.

Dark orange eyes belonging to a woman with shoulder length dark blonde hair gazed at the other woman's feet as she tried regaining her balance on the ice. "Are you afraid of us, 'mother'?" she asked, letting her dark red skirt flap in the wind, making the fire pattern on it seem more intimidating. Even the ember sparks visible on the equally red blouse seemed to be glowing.

"She's not afraid of us, Nina," a brown haired woman next to her stated, following the movement with her own dark green eyes. Hip length hair fell behind a dark green dress as two braids framing the side of her face nearly covered the images of decaying branches of leaves. "She's afraid of disappointing her boss that lives on a large rock and thinks everything should be all rainbows and sun shines."

"You are most likely right, Avalon," a hooded figure next to her said. Brown hair poked out from the top and his dark brown eyes were turned toward the other brunet. He lazily kicked his legs that were covered in a pair of brown capris. While the cloak he wore covered most of his upper body, it was still possible to make out a brown shirt.

The last person didn't make an immediate move to join in, preferring to watch the others with a mischievous twinkle in his cold blue eyes. Black hair with white streaks poked out from a hood similar to the other boys along with a pair of brown pants. The only difference was that he wore navy blue shirt under the cloak. "Now let's not be so hard on her," he commented, earning a look from the other three, "It must be hard for one person to let go of such great power. Were we not the same all those years ago?"

The other boy, Thanatos, rolled his eyes while the girls smiled in agreement. "That must be why she has decided to entrust the seasons with children now. They're less likely to seek out power and are probably more than eager to please dear, old Mother Nature," Nina said, mockingly crossing her hands over her heart.

"Still," Avalon interrupted, eyes darkening, "she could have at least made my replacement a little less airy. Not everything in spring is about flowers and butterflies." "At least yours doesn't go around beautifying death," Thanatos said, scoffing, "death is an end so it shouldn't be praised as if it were another day of live."

Mother Nature had to fight herself from lashing out at the two; she didn't appreciate anyone criticizing her 'children'. Bradwr looked into her eyes and found himself grinning when he saw her conflict. "As much as I have enjoyed catching up," he started, "I believe it's time for us to say good-bye, for now at least."

"You're right," Nina stated, "I'm quite excited to go _greet_ my 'little sister'. Do you think she will enjoy a game of 'see how many people you can make pass out'?'" Before the others could respond, the ice below them seemed to explode, catching them off guard.

Without giving them a moment to recover, Mother Nature sent a large gust of wind at them while trying to grab their legs so she could drag them below the water. When the water made contact with Nina however, it instantly evaporated as the girl let herself heat up then dove into the water. Steam instantly rose up, making it difficult for Mother Nature to see at least three feet in front of her.

Sensing the woman's trouble, wind quickly tried blowing the steam away. A shadow from her left caused the woman to duck as a shard of ice flew above her head. In her distraction, she didn't see the water around her begin to rapidly boil until what was left of the ice step melted away.

Her entire lower bodily started tingling and she found herself crying out a little in shock. A shadow appeared above her and she barely managed to dive under as a long, vine with thorns cracked against the water's surface. Looking around, two more shadows approached her, one from the left and the other from the right.

She lifted up her arms to form two blocks of ice that kept a kick and fist from hitting her. The ice instantly spread over Nina's arm and Thanatos' leg until reaching their chest, thickening up until they could barely move.

The water around Nina began to heat up again, causing the ice around them to slowly melt. Deciding that they weren't a problem for the time being, Mother Nature shot back up to the surface, letting the wind catch her as she turned to face Avalon. The brunette still had her vine whip and didn't give the other woman a second before lashing out again.

While Mother Nature avoided having her face hit, a few thorns snagged on her arm and managed to rip off part of the cloth and leave a few scratches. Ignoring the sting that spread through her arm, Mother Nature formed her own weapon. A simple wooden rod appeared in her hand but it managed to block another blow from Avalon's weapon.

"Wow, a wooden stick," Avalon mocked, giving the whip a great pull. The rod in Mother Nature's hands broke into two halves, causing the other to laugh. "Now what are you going to do, old woman?"

Offering the girl her own smile, Mother Nature simply stated, "This." She pointed the two pieces at Avalon and a green light emitted from them. The girl didn't have a chance to dodge as the light wrapped itself around her body. It tightened its hold around Avalon, forcing her to let go of her weapon.

From below the water, Mother Nature saw that the other two were just about free from their own bonds. Concentrating as hard as she could, she had the water bring the other two next to Avalon. When they were only a foot from each other, she pointed the broken pieces at them again. This time a blue light glowed from the end and as it shot at the three of them, ice instantly formed around them in a sphere until it was so thick that Mother Nature could barely make out their outlines.

Despite the small victory, her mind was still uneasy as she looked around for the fourth being. "Come on out, Bradwr!" she yelled, not noticing that the wind seemed to be shaking. "Aren't you the one who always bragged about being the best fight?! Prove it! Show yourself right now!"

"Since you've asked so nicely," Bradwr called out from directly behind her. As Mother Nature turned around to meet his smirking face, she felt the wind begin to tightly wrap around her. "Wind, what's wrong?" she asked, feeling the breath begin to leave her body. Every muscle in her body screamed as everything seemed to crush in her body.

"Bradwr!" she gasped, "what have you done to the wind?!" Her only answer was a cruel chuckle as the person in question looked straight at her, his hands randomly moving beside his head.

"Oh, nothing. Just showing these movements of air who is in control." He pointed his hands toward his trapped comrades and Mother Nature could do little to stop the wind from slicing through the ice. She could feel the old element screaming at being forced to do everything against its will and found herself closing her eyes to avoid looking at Bradwr's gloating face.

When the ice finally broke, the three former prisoners finished off their bonds and turned toward the pair. All three let out grim smiles when they saw Mother Nature being bound by her old friend. The water below started churning but before it could help, Bradwr froze the surface of it again.

"While that was a very fun workout," Bradwr said, forcing the wind to make Mother Nature open her eyes, "I believe it's time for us to get going." Another vine whip appeared in Avalon's hand and she said, "Before we go though, why don't we repay the favor to you."

"I say that's a good idea," Nina stated, forming a cruel smile similar to the other girl's. "However I can't think which is worse, being suspended in scorching heat for eternity or in freezing cold. What do you think, Thanatos?" "To be honest, Nina," the man replied, forming his own twisted smile, "I say witnessing the death of your loved ones and forced to view them during that time takes the cake."

"That's an excellent idea, Thanatos," Bradwr stated. "Why don't we start by taking care of our little replacements? If that is all the fight Mother Nature has, then her little seasons won't stand a chance."

"You leave them alone!" Mother Nature shouted, trying in vain to reach out to the wind. Despite their long history together, the woman never wanted to learn how to fully control her friend but now, she found herself wishing she had at least attempted to learn. Avalon rolled her eyes at the other's outburst and indifferently asked, "Can we shut her up or something? I didn't escape from that dessert just to hear her annoying voice."

"Go ahead, my dear," Bradwr answered, waving his hand over. An evil glint appeared in Avalon's eyes as she lifted up her vine whip, eyeing the other woman's throat. The other three smiled in glee when Mother Nature once again shut her eyes to avoid their stares. The fear she had tried to suppress started to fill her entire core and she couldn't help but wish for a miracle.

Just as she felt the whip near her throat, a dark presence surrounded her. She quickly opened her eyes in time to see the other four's shocked faces until darkness consumed her. Her beating heart rate echoed in her ears as she heard a soft voice say, "I had thought I had taught you to fight better than that, my dear."

The darkness around her slowly faded as she was gently placed on a worn down, stone bridge. A large cavern flooded her vision and she could feel the shadows moving and whispering among themselves as a few enjoyed themselves in feeding off her remaining fear. While the whole place was dim and seemed to be ready to swallow anything up at a moment's notice, Mother Nature never felt so glad to be there.

"You have, father. I have just forgotten how strong they were," she said to an emerging shadow below her feet. The tall form of Pitch Black appeared before her, though he seemed to look slightly weak. His normally straight face held a small smile as he offered his hand to the woman, who gladly took it.

"Father," she started, locking her dark eyes with his golden ones, "I'm afraid I have greatly underestimated their strength. I thought they would be locked away for many more years but it seems I was wrong."

"Obviously," he stated, releasing her hand once she regained her balance, "So what are you going to do about it? One is hard enough to deal with, much less all four of them. And let us not forget that the current spirits and legends aren't exactly the best fit for the job, except for a few." "I know that is why I have a great favor to ask of you."

Pitch turned away and said, "I believe I already know what you are going to ask me, but go ahead and ask anyway." An involuntary smile graced Mother Nature's lips as she asked, "Pitch Black, can I rely on you and, hopefully, the Guardian's help in defeating Avalon, Nina, Thanatos, and Bradwr before they destroy the entire balance of this planet and everyone on it?"

While she couldn't see the shadowed beings face, his posture was enough to answer her question.

* * *

Welcome to the end of chapter 2! Thanks for reading this far and I hope you enjoyed it! I'm not the best with fight scenes but I hoped it turned out alright. The other spirits' names took me a bit longer to figure out along with what type of personality each has. Hopefully (why do I say hope a lot?) ya'll will enjoy them along with the other seasonal spirits. Next chapter will hopefully (there I go again) be posted later this week before Saturday so stay tuned for that. Well that's about all I got so once again: I hope you enjoyed chapter 2 and don't be afraid to voice your thoughts/ comments/ questions/ concerns/ or criticism. I enjoy hearing both positive and negative feedback and will try to answer any questions you might have, to an extent. See ya'll next time. =^.^=


	3. Chapter 3

Well I bring you chapter 3 of this lovely story. I would like to say first of all, thank you to those that have read this and have favorited/ followed it. And a special thank you to those that have reviewed. I'm sorry if I do not get back to you but just know that it means a lot to me to see the 'review alert' email!

Alright this chapter is pretty long (about 6700 words!) and hopefully ya'll will find it enjoyable. I was planning on splitting this off into two chapters but I decided at the last minute not to. I will explain why in the AN at the end.

Any who, I bring you this chapter and hope you enjoy reading it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Rise of the Guardians belongs to DreamWorks and the books belong to William Joyce (I feel like an annoying parrot but whatever, highly recommend reading the books! They're awesome). The seasons are imaginary characters and any relation to people in real life is purely coincidence.

Quick spoiler: we'll see two characters from another DreamWorks film toward the end. I'm sure it's pretty obvious who they are. I also do not own them.

* * *

After the shadow and Mother Nature vanished, Nina turned her anger toward Avalon who had started muttering curses under her breath. "Nice going, idiot," Nina spat, glaring at the other girl. "You let her escape." "I let her escape?! You should have done something sooner, you stuck up hot-head!" Avalon replied, matching her own glare. "At least I didn't let myself get frozen!"

"You're one to talk 'Miss locked up in a dessert'! You wouldn't have been in that situation if you had listened to me!" "To you!? It was partly your fault we got captured in the first place!" A tense silence fell over the two as they continuing glaring at each other. The staring contest lasted for less than a minute, and the two were once again shouting at each other.

Off to the side, Thanatos turned to Bradwr and asked, "Should we really let them be wasting time like this? Mother Nature has probably already contacted her new charges and allies by now." The other just shrugged, lazily flexing his fingers as the wind blew through them. "Just let them argue for a while. It might help them clear their heads before we confront the others." "Right, because nothing works better at calming feelings than arguing with one another."

Just as Thanatos finished speaking, the two girls stopped talking and smiled at each other in some form of agreement. Thanatos ignored Bradwr's smug look and asked the pair, "If you two are quite done, I believe we still have some business to take care of."

Both women stared at him in disdain as he continued, "We have already wasted time thanks to your petty argument. We need to head out now and finish what we started all those years ago." "Who died and made you the leader?" Avalon muttered, crossing her arms.

Thanatos cast a glare at the brunette, saying, "Someone has to keep us from messing up again and since I'm the strongest-" "Strongest?" Bradwr interrupts, on the verge of laughing, "You? Do you really think I'll stand back and let someone like you tell me what to do?" The man threw his head back in laughter, sending a chill down the other three's spines as the twisted sound hit their ears.

Wiping a non-existent tear from his eye, Bradwr looked back at the other man, a twisted smile on his lips. "Well? Are you going to answer me or do I take your silence as a sign of surrender?" Thanatos bowed his head, keeping his eyes glued to his icy reflection. "If there are no more complaints; all of you head out! We've wasted too much time." Before the other three could say anything, the wind wrapped around them and sent them in different directions.

Julia turned her head enough to glare at Bradwr's gloating face, feeling herself heat up in anger. '_Enjoy yourself for now, because I'll soon have you been begging in mercy_,' she thought, focusing her attention straight ahead.

Avalon let out a small cry, but instantly recovered as she imagined her meeting with a certain spring spirit. 'I hope you'll be caught off guard, you little air-head.' A wicked smile spread across her face. '_It's no fun hurting someone who is expecting it_.'

'_That stupid, ice cube_!' Thanatos thought, clinching his fist. '_Who does he think he is? I'm going to have fun killing him and that stupid twig.' _He felt the wind let go of him and tried to hold back his panic as he neared the surface of the water, which seemed to be trying to grab him. Just as he was about to hit the water, the wind picked him up again and shot him up so fast that he couldn't breathe. In the back of his mind, he knew that Bradwr was grinning at his misery. '_Oh, yes, lots of fun_.'

* * *

Up at the North Pole, the yetis were getting ready to battle the Christmas rush. Ice statues stood on almost every table and flying gadgets glided through the air, until they were knocked down by a curious elf. Why North allowed the belled creatures in the workshop was anybody's guess.

The man himself was locked away in his private study, sculpting out his latest idea. He loudly hummed along to a song played by a Russian orchestra while a few elves tried staying clear of the ice chips that flew off the block of ice. One wandered close to the table and found itself sliding along the floor when their foot made contact with a large ice chip. The group followed the other around the room, making sure to avoid bumping against the table.

North glanced at the belled creatures for a second before shaking his head and returning back to the block. He set aside his hammer to bring out the chainsaw, which sent more chips flying at the elves who had managed to knock down their friend. A few who were hit dramatically spun around before falling on their backs, causing their friends to let inaudible giggles.

As he continued working, North didn't feel another presence enter the globe room. The yetis however, could only stare in disbelief as the shadows around them moved toward the Guardian tiles, which had been redesigned to add the newest member. The shadows swirled around the pentagon before rising above the floor.

Two human shapes formed from the black mass and after the shadows retreated, Mother Nature immediately headed for the globe controls while Pitch Black stared at her in amusement. "Wow, my dear," he said as the woman took the handle and pushed down on it. "I never expected you to mess with the Guardians' stuff without asking." With a flick of her wrist, the control glowed and the aurora lights formed around the workshop.

The yetis and Pitch stared up at the lights as they brightened up the sky. Mother Nature let go of the handle and turned to the nearest yeti. "You," she said, pointing to a yeti with brown fur. "Please go tell North that he has and is about to have company."

When the toy-maker didn't move, Mother Nature narrowed her eyes and shouted, "Now!" A crack of thunder in the workshop frightened the yeti as he ran toward North's study. Realizing what she just down, Mother Nature pinched the bridge of her nose as Pitch softly laughed. "I never knew you could be so cruel to an innocent creature." "Please… not right now, Pitch."

Back in North's study, the man was just finished chipping off the rest of the unneeded ice. As he took the small item in his large hands, he gently blew on it to reveal a spinning top. Grinning, he placed it on the table before taking a piece of string and giving it a great tug. The top began quickly spinning across the table, its icy surface reflecting the gentle lights in the room.

The warrior grabbed a cookie from a nearby plate held up by an elf and laughed as the top fell off the table. Before it could touch the ground, a dim glow illuminated from its center and the toy began spinning in mid-air around the room. As it neared the room's entrance, the door quickly burst open and a yeti started shouting at him.

The broken ice slid on the floor, sliding past North's boots. He grabbed his head and looked at the yeti in the doorframe, who lifted his paws up to his mouth. Both stared at each other in disbelief until North said, "How many times have I told you to knock?" The yeti flinched as the last part was shouted at him but recovered enough to tell North that he had company.

"What?" he asked, confusion in his blue eyes. The yeti quickly said that two other beings were at the pole, one was the Nightmare King and the other the Mother of Earth. North's eyes widened as he shot up, pushing the yeti out of his way as the creature told him the woman had activated the lights.

Sandy and Tooth, along with a few of the mini-fairies, were already entering the Globe room when North appeared, showing looks of similar confusion when they saw Mother Nature and Pitch Black. Their old enemy shot them all a small smile while his daughter seemed extremely worried about something. A few hallways away, they heard Bunny hopping inside loudly complaining about the cold.

From around the corner he called out, "North there better be a very good reason for this or I'm gonna-" When Bunny entered the room and caught sight of the pair, his mouth dropped and a new chill not related to the cold went down his spine. "Does someone mind telling me what is going on?" he asked, straightening up and reaching for one of his boomerangs.

"Is that anyway to welcome a guest, rabbit?" Pitch asked, smiling as the Pooka sent him a glare. "Knowing you, I'm sure you just let yourself barge in," Bunny stated, looking toward the other Guardians for help. He was met with equally confused stares.

"As fun as this staring contest is," Mother Nature interrupted, gaining everyone's attention, "I'm afraid this is not a social visit. I am in great need of your help." "What is problem, MN?" North asked, feeling something stir in his belly.

"The old season keepers have escaped," she answered. Bunny and Sandy widened their eyes in terror while Tooth and North just looked more confused. Pitch saw the pair's expression and stated, "Four old spirits that Mother Nature entrusted to govern the seasons." "Unfortunately, they had no compassion for humans and only cared about causing misery and chaos. They grew worse as humans began to expand across the planet," she stated. "Aster and Sanderson, I'm sure you remember what those times were like."

"Ay, I do," Bunny answered, fur bristling on the back of his neck, "While I knew that the seasons were temperamental by nature, their idea of 'fun' and 'good' had more to do with their twister personalities." Beside him Sandy signed images of a flame, a thorn vine, a tombstone, and an icicle in a circle around an image of Earth before letting them all 'explode'. "You said it, Sandy."

"Speaking of elements," Pitch started, "where is Jack Frost? I'm sure he knows that these, lights, are Guardian related." The four seemed to have just noticed that they were indeed missing a member when Mother Nature let out a gasp.

"MN?!" Tooth cried out, catching the woman to keep her from falling back, "What's wrong?" The woman's eyes were clouded and her whole body seemed to be shaking. "They're in trouble," she whispered, looking at the ground. "Who?" Tooth asked, being the only one besides Bunny able to hear.

"Jack and the others are in trouble," Mother Nature repeated, much louder as she stood up straight, "the old seasons are attacking and they need help." "Well where are they?" Bunny asked, ready to open up a tunnel wherever they needed to go. The woman's eyes clouded over again and she said, "Emerald is somewhere in Brazil. Julia is near the north of Africa. Rowan is in the lower states…" "Where is Jack?" North asked, worry evident in his voice. "He's… he's near here. Close to the Arctic Circle."

"I'll go help Em," Bunny declared, tapping hit foot. A tunnel popped up and the giant rabbit jumped down as North said, "I'll go get Jack. No one knows these lands better than me." A few yetis off to the side couldn't help but gruff in annoyance as the usually jolly man pulled out a snow globe and jumped through the portal. "Sandy," Tooth stated, getting the golden man's attention, "I'll take care of Rowan while you get Julia." The former star gave a determined nod and was about to summon a plane when Pitch stopped him.

"Neither of you two will make it to them in time. I may not be at full strength, but I have enough to make the shadows take you to them." Before Tooth could complain Mother Nature stopped her. "Toothiana, please don't argue." The Guardian of Memories looked to Sandy, remembering what happened last time the little man was overtaken by Pitch. Sandy met her gaze and though he looked worried too, he pushed his shoulders back and gave the fairy another nod. "Alright, it seems I have no choice but to trust you." Her mini-fairies cowered a little, remembering the last time they had to travel through the shadows.

Pitch only nodded before waving his hand. The remaining two Guardians, plus the fairies, found themselves pulled into the shadows and felt their bodies seem to melt with the darkness. As the shadows fell apart, Pitch looked to Mother Nature. The woman immediately made a beeline for the window but was pulled back by the shadowed being. "Let me go! I have to go help them!"

"You're in no condition to do so, my dear," he told her, spinning her around so they were face to face. "You're still drained from the last time and the wind is no longer able to help you. You'll just be a burden to everyone else." As his words sunk in, the woman went limp and Pitch gently led her to a seat. "I know you feel like you need to take care of this on your own, but the best thing to do now is regain your strength so you can end those nuisances when the time comes."

Throughout his little speech his face softened, making him seem more like a concerned father than the terrifying Boogeyman. The yetis stared at the pair until the man grumbled, "Please turn away. You have my word that I will not do anything to this workshop." While they still distrusted Pitch, the yetis split off to their stations, keeping a close eye on the father and daughter.

~~~~ Meanwhile ~~~

Julia was just nearing Sahara Dessert when she felt the wind slacken its hold. "Wind?!" she called out, falling toward the ocean. Just as the element picked back up, she had already hit the surface side first. The cooler temperature sent a shock through the girl's body, making it difficult for her to swim toward the surface.

As she struggled, two pairs of hands gently took her by the arms and led her up. Tails flashed from the corner of her eyes along with two smiling faces, both seemingly young but only one had a mature face. Once she made it out of the water, the mermaid with the younger face asked, "Are you alright? You hit the water pretty hard."

"Yeah, thank you," Julia answered, frowning. "I wonder what happened with the wind. They would never drop me if they know they can't catch me." The mature one was looking toward the sky as the other two talked, focused on something off the horizon. "Can you fly?" she asked, gaining Julia's attention.

The summer spirit gave an unconfident nod and tried jumping out of the water, expecting the wind to help pick her up. However the girl couldn't even feel a slight breeze, which worried her greatly. "Is something wrong, Miss?" the younger mermaid asked. "The wind… It's not here."

Her companion was about to make another comment when the other mermaid shouted, "Get in the water now!" Julia didn't have time to take in the command before the other grabbed her arm and pulled her down. As she looked toward the surface, Julia saw the older mermaid wave her arms and signal the water to block a ball of fire that was aimed where the group just was. Bright sunlight became blocked off as steam radiated from the blast.

The mermaid nervously looked up and Julia felt her relax when the other started to swim toward them. Just as they were about to regroup, a blonde haired woman appeared behind her and pushed the fish being to the side. The woman turned to the pair and let out a smirk.

The water temperature instantly began to heat up and though it didn't bother Julia, the mermaid beside her looked like she was being roasted. Sending a glare at the woman, Julia tightened her grip and helped push her companion away. Hoping she wouldn't make things worse, the girl released her own heat which caused the water around her to steam up.

As the steam thickened, Julia swam to the surface and took in a huge breath when her head popped up. She took in deep gulps of air and franticly looked around her, trying to find the attacker. Movement caught her eye and just as she was about to attack herself, she saw a head of brown hair. Knowing that it was one of the mermaids, Julia relaxed but immediately tensed up when she felt someone grab her leg.

She barely had time to take in air before being surrounded once again in water. Hoping to land a hit, she gave her free leg a hard kick and felt her foot collide with a face. The hands let go and Julia saw the mermaids come to her side once again. The younger wrapped her arms around her chest then with a huge flick of her tail, darted away from the other woman with the older mermaid following close behind.

While the older kept looking behind them, the younger turned to spirit and said, "We're taking you to the Sandman's castle. It's the closet piece of land and it will give you a chance to fight back." Julia just nodded but let out a gasp along with her escort when they saw a shadow flying above them. '_How is she able to ride the wind_?' she thought, flinching when the silhouette threw another fireball at them.

The other mermaid sent another large wave to block it, forming a rope of water to wrap around the other's ankle. As the woman was pulled down, the fish being made the water form a sphere around her and made the currents spin her quickly in a circle. Once it seemed the woman was disoriented, she was thrown out of the water before being smacked against the surface. Her body seemed to go limp and floated face down.

"Way to go, mom!" the young mermaid cheered, almost letting go of Julia. However, the other just stared the body before turning to them. "Go on, now," she commanded. "But, mom-" "Now!" In a blink, the fighter forced the current to push the girls away just as the figure made a lunge at them. From a distance, the pair noticed the blonde turn to the older mermaid as the temperature began to heat up again.

The two could only watch as their vision became blocked by steam until it began to fade away as they moved farther. Feeling her air beginning to run out, Julia gestured to the girl to pull them up and she once again wondered why she ever took oxygen for granted. Her companion just stared in the direction they came from before turning her head. Not knowing what to say, the girl took the other's hand and offered a sad smile. With watered eyes, the mermaid nodded and once again led her toward the Sandman's castle.

* * *

Even though Rowan's job as the autumn spirit was to dispose of the old life to make way for the new, it didn't mean he couldn't try to brighten everything up. With one touch of his hand he could make an entire tree shed its leaves and make a whole forest nothing more than a wasteland of twigs and still have enough energy to wither a large meadow.

While that would be easier than painting almost every leave by hand in different shades at different times, it didn't seem as much fun. Rowan enjoyed hearing the quiet laugh of the leaves as they sported their new look before falling off the plants. He also enjoyed seeing a kid's face light up as they gathered his colorful leaves in a pile before jumping in them or avoid crunching on leaves while the yard was covered in them.

It was those moments, though short and fleeting, that didn't make him feel so bad about basically being the season of death. As he finished on his hundredth tree, he couldn't help but remember a conversation he had with Jack about the subject.

_The autumn spirit had stayed a little later one year to take care of some last minute tasks and had run across the winter spirit frosting a few trees. The usually smiling boy had a small frown had each time he frosted something, his body would cringe as the patterned ice took over its target._

_Confused, Rowan confronted him and asked, "What's wrong with you, Frost? You've usually taken care of a whole forest by now." A small smile spread across the other's lips and he answered, "Nothing really. I was just overhearing some people talking, that's all."_

_"I still don't see why you pay attention to the mortals. All they do is complain about the current season, wishing for it to end, and once it ends and the next one comes they start all over again. It wasn't so bad when they still believed the seasons were caused by mythical beings, but now they have their science and intellects we're basically being discredited. I'm not saying the Earth doesn't turn on its axis, but do they honestly believe the leaves magically just change colors at once, or animals know exactly when to wake up for hibernation. Plus if Julia didn't keep the heat in check, no one would go outside much less the beach or the park or the-"_

_"At least those are things people look forward to!" Jack interrupted, his loud voice startling Rowan. "All they do with me is complain about the cold and tell me to get lost. Well… not knowingly but it still hurts." The teen turned away from his older sibling and added frost to another tree, the fern pattern crackling as it raced along the trunk. "Even the kids only really care about the snow if it gets them out of school or gives them a 'White Christmas.' All the cold really does is bring death and misery."_

_Taken back by the usually cheerful spirit's gloomy mood, Rowan just watched as he continued making frost. While he had usually caught glimpses of Jack's frost as he left for the season, seeing the intricate ice up close was something much different. The way the fern just branched out and coated the trees in sparkling shades of white as it caught the sun's rays made everything feel bright and welcoming. Much different from the old winter where everything would just be blanketed in a layer of snow and ice._

_Snapping out of his trance, the brunette stated, "Actually, death is my job." Catching sight of the other's confused look, Rowan just smiled and said, "The reason I always like to paint the leaves before they drop is to give them a chance to enjoy themselves before they fall off and die. Same thing with the grass. While my cold may not be as severe as yours, it's still unable to keep stuff alive. Honestly, the only reason early mortals liked my season was because it meant harvest time, but even that's like a celebration of death. Cut the plants from their roots and stems and you basically got acceptable murder. Strange how mortals cringe at the death of their own but celebrate the death of plants and animals, don't you think?"_

_Despite himself, Jack started chuckling and nodding his head in agreement. Knowing that he was getting through to the boy, Rowan continued, "As for the 'misery' part, look around you Jack. What do you see?" The other playfully rolled his eyes before scanning the clearing they were in, covered in a light blanket of frost and sparkling in the sunlight. The twinkle in Jack's blue eyes returned as he realized what the other was implying._

_Finishing up, Rowan ended, "And what about those future monsters. I remember a time when kids could cower at the mere sight of snow but now, they're happy if they can catch a snowflake much less having a snowball fight. I'm probably close to showing my age right now but I don't care. I've seen many things happen in my time as the spirit of autumn, which sets the stage for winter, and I must say, I've never seen a being until you bring so much happiness and fun to what was once a 'dreaded' season. Never forget that, okay kid."_

Rowan was so deep into his little speech that he didn't notice Jack had come closer until he felt a pair of arms wrap around his back. Taken back for a second, the boy could only stare as Jack held onto him, a large and true smile on his face. Ignoring the tough side of mind, Rowan returned the hug before gently pushing the other away saying, "If the girls ask, tell them you were helping me pop my back and I saw a spider on yours, go it?" He winked at the last part and was answered with a similar one.

Without another word Jack waved good-bye and flew off, a light trail of snow following in his wake. Rowan had just stood there, admiring the frost until a sneeze escaped him.

The boy was broken out of his thoughts when he felt the wind suddenly stop. "Whoa! This can't be good! Ah! Not the tree! Not the-" While the branches did slow down his descent, each time he made contact with the wood a jolt went through his body and leaves instantly withered and fell off, though much slower than the spirit.

By the time he hit the ground, his whole body was stinging from the fall. Moaning, he sat up and starting rubbing his head. "Note to self; do not daydream while you're flying high above the tree line. Hey, wind, what happened? You usually give me a bit of a warning before dropping me like that." When he heard nothing but silence, his body tensed up. "Wind? Are you okay?"

"I would imagine not," a voice called out from behind him. Startled, the boy let a small cry escape his lips as he caught sight of a hooded figure, floating lazily on a breeze. "After all, my brother likes to keep a tight grip on his new toys."

"Who are you and what have you done with the wind?!" Rowan demanded, straightening up while taking a defensive stance. "You don't know who I am?! I'm insulted, petrified, sad, mortified, embarrassed-"

"I get you're a loud mouth," he interrupted, earning a glare from the newcomer, "but that does not answer my question. I won't ask again so you better cough something up or I'll be giving your teeth to the Tooth Fairy."

"The youth is so rude these days. As much as I would enjoy continuing to annoy you, I'm afraid I have an important business to take care of." "And what is that?" The stranger stared at the other boy with a twisted smile and answered, "To kill you of course, and maybe you're siblings after that if they're still alive."

Trying in vain to hide his shock the boy asked, "Who are you?" The other's smile widened and a cold breeze past through the clearing, startling the fallen leaves that looked more like brown clumps. "I'm Thanatos, former spirit of autumn, incredibly awesome, handsome, and you're soon to be killer."

* * *

Now that her new seeds were restored, Emerald happily floated on the breeze, her bundle still in her arms as she searched for a good spot to plant them. While she enjoyed planting new things everywhere, she found it was easier to start off an experimental batch in one of the tropical rainforest. Whether it was because of the climate, diverse plant life, or enjoyment in watching scientist scratch their heads in puzzlement at a new discovery, her seeds really enjoyed it.

Finally spotting a clearing that seemed to receive enough sunlight, the blonde directed the wind to drop her off and set to work digging as soon as her dirtied feet touched the ground. Once the hole was deep enough, she cradled the seeds in her hands and blew on them. They began to emit a soft green glow as they were placed in the hole until the dirt blocked their light from view.

She got up to brush some dirt away and watched in glee as a tiny green stem popped out of the ground. Smiling, she jumped up into the wind's embrace and flew over the trees. Most of the plant life there were from her past experiments, so she couldn't help but smile wider as she observed how healthy her plants were. It may have taken many years, but the results were worth it in the end.

With so much life around her, Emerald couldn't help but frown a little as she passed over a cleared out meadow. Mortals bustled around large, noisy equipment and drug out large branches, which were either tossed into the machines or thrown onto a burn pile. The new additions caused the flames to crackle as they grew higher. She flew through the smoke and let out a choked cough as her lungs were filled with the dark, transparent substance.

After recovering, she cast another sad look to the clearing before heading on her way. While she knew that the mortals needed their own space and materials to live, it still didn't lessen the pain she felt whenever she felt a tree being chopped down. As the spirit of spring, she was very in tune with all the plant life on Earth. She was the closet to Mother Nature out of all her siblings because of that, but it wasn't an easy thing to deal with. Just the pick of a flower sent a shock through her body and the destruction of an entire forest felt like something was violently pulling out her heart then proceed to heavily dance on it.

Driving those negative thoughts from her mind, Emerald flew down to a little village where farmers were preparing to plant the year's crops. A small smile flashed across her lips as she watched the older members show the younger ones how to properly set the plants in so they could have the best chance at growing.

Feeling generous, Emerald slowly waved her hand and the plants that were already set grew a little before everyone's eyes. The elders looked at each other with joy and relief while the younger ones stared in amazement at what just happened.

Deciding it was time to move on, she let the wind wrap around her and lead her somewhere else. Trusting the wind to take care of her, the girl became lost in her thoughts, thinking about how she acted toward Jack. Guilt filled her heart once again when she remembered what she threatened to do to him if she caught him. She knew her winter sibling didn't mean to freeze all of her stuff, it was in his nature after all, but sometimes he would do that on purpose to either 1) annoy her, 2) be a nuisance, or 3) because he was bored.

Of course that was before she tried to get to know him. When he first appeared, she didn't know what to think of him. He was a fun-loving spirit that seemed to have no other purpose than to cause trouble. She had lost count of the number of times she had to chase him off when it was spring's time to take over.

That changed however when she learned that the winter spirit only messed with her because he was lonely. Nature spirits were usually unpredictable so other spirits tried not to associate with them, unless they wanted to use them. As the spirit of the seasons, they were even more unpredictable and adding to the fact that Jack was stuck as a teenager with no memories of his past, which made him even more unstable.

Rowan was first out of the three of them to properly introduce the spirit to his duty and stayed with him until the boy could take care of everything on his own. Even today Rowan is the first spirit Jack goes to, and the first person to hear from the boy himself about becoming a Guardian.

Julia was next, which greatly surprised everyone since summer and winter were nature opposites, but as the saying goes, 'opposites attract'. While they did have arguments and small fights, it didn't strain their relationship.

Knowing that she shouldn't keep having ill-feelings toward him, she started befriending him and hasn't been as happy since. Well except for the success for her plants that is. She only wished that she could have helped him deal with being unseen by the mortals, especially the children. While he has gained popularity over the years, she can still sense his fear that he will wake up and he'll back to being invisible.

Emerald was so deep in her thoughts she didn't feel the wind let go of her until she hit a tree. Letting out a whispered curse, she rubbed her head and carefully made her way to the forest floor. When her feet touched the soil, she sensed the trees and plants begin to shake in what seemed like fear. Frowning, she placed her hand on a nearby tree and asked, "What's troubling you? Does it have to do with the wind?"

"Man, you are really annoying," someone called out, startling the girl. Emerald quickly turned around to be met with more trees and shadows that seemed to have just appeared. Trying to hold back her fear, the blonde asked, "Who are you? Show yourself, please."

A groan was heard from her left and when she turned, her eyes widened in shock and confusion when she caught sight of brown haired woman being lifted by the wind. When light and dark green eyes met, the stranger let out what sounded like a tone of disgust. "I knew you were an air-head but I didn't think you would be this clueless. You see a stranger come up to you and what's the first thing you do: ask them their name as if you expect them to answer you. Ugh, I can't wait to get rid of you."

Fear gripped her for a minute as the woman's last words reached her ears. Noticing the other girl's reaction, the brunette let out a dark smile and pulled out a vine of thorns from her back. "Maybe if you put up a good fight I'll tell you my name but for now, you can just refer to me as your killer."

* * *

Jack let out a loud cheer as he passed over the cooling states before deciding to bring some early snow to the Scandinavian countries. As the snow softly settled over his favorite island, he caught sight of a brown-haired boy and a blonde-girl sitting next to each other in a cove. The girl seemed to be describing something to the boy, who quickly wrote everything time with his left hand.

Feeling mischievous, Jack asked the wind to bring him closer until he was crouching on a tree located not too far away from the couple. Smirking, he slightly waved his hand toward the boy's book and watch as it flew out of his hands. The brunette quickly got up and tried to grab it before it landed on a frozen pond.

The girl was saying something to him through her small chuckles and just as the boy grabbed his book, he slipped on the ice and landed on his back. The metal leg he wore scrapped the ice and just as he was about to stand back up, Jack sent another breeze his way. The boy fell again and this time, both started laughing as the girl carefully walked over to help the boy up.

When the boy was just about up, the wind picked up again and the pair fell on top of each other. More laughter filled the cove as the two untangled their limps from each other but neither made a move to get up. As the cold set in their bones, they cuddled closer and just stared at the sky in comfortable silence as snowflakes began to fall. Noticing the wonder in their eyes, Jack remembered his promise to North and leapt back up. As the wind carried him away, the white-haired boy didn't notice two pairs of eyes staring at his retreating figure.

Water turned to ice and Jack couldn't help but let his own famous frost patterns decorate the landscape. Wherever his staff touched, the frost branched out until not a spot for miles didn't sparkle in the sun's rays.

While he admired his work, the aurora lights suddenly appeared, snapping him out of his daze. "Must be something serious. Let's go wind." He had only gone a few miles when he found himself falling toward the ice. "Wind?!" When he didn't feel the element take him, he stared straight down and closed his while pointing his staff down.

As the ground got closer a large spike of ice appeared, the usual sharp tip replaced with a gentle slope. Around the spike a path began to form, looping around until it ended in a pile of snow. To put it simply, it looked like an ice slide.

While Jack's landing wasn't painless, the rush he felt rapidly sliding down pushed all thoughts to the back of his mind. He let out a scream of joy and just as the slide was ending, he jumped up and did a small flip before landing in the snow.

Laughing, he stood up and brushed off the snow saying, "I'm not going to lie, that was fun. Hey wind did you-" The stillness of everything alerted him that the wind seemed to have vanished, hence the reason why he created the ice slide in the first place.

"Wind?" he called out. "I'm afraid they're under new management now," a voice called out from behind him. Jack quickly turned and raised his staff as a hooded figure stepped out behind his new creation. The man stared at the slide for a moment then said, "I must say, I though you would end up dying from the fall. I had already imagined the time I would save because of that but here you go and make up… whatever this thing is."

The teen didn't say anything and made sure to keep the other person in their vision as they began circling the ice. "I'm not going to lie, it's pretty good for something made on the spot. There's only one problem with it though." The figure lifted his hand and placed it on the ice. Suddenly the structure became engulfed in frost, but not bright and clear ice Jack made. No, this frost had a tint of black that reminded Jack off the ice structure still standing in Antarctica he and Pitch had made. The similarities between the two set Jack on edge and when he looked toward the base, the figure was gone except for a similar frost pattern on the spot where he just was.

Mentally screaming at himself for taking his eyes away, he quickly turned around trying to find the other. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" "I'm glad you asked," the voice said from right behind him.

The spirit of winter turned around again to meet blue eyes similar to his own, only the other's eyes were cold and lifeless. A twisted smirk graced the person's lips. "The name is Bradwr now. And what I want from you," he raised his hand and ice covered his fingers, looking like claws, "is to stand very still so I can rip you to shreds".

* * *

Thank you for reading this far! Was it enjoyable? Tolerable? Amazing? Terrible? Feel free to tell me your opinion, even if it's constructive criticism, you know what, especially if it's constructive criticism! Also, please bring up any mistakes with spelling, grammar, or something else. I tend to forget key words sometimes and though I am working on it, words are still lost. Also, I feel like the rating my not be matching up because of all the mention of death and murder. What do ya'll think about it?

Everybody know who the couple was? I seriously couldn't help but add them in, I'm sorry. If you cannot figure it out, I'll be more than happy to tell you. And the ice claws were inspired by Avatar: TLA. Anybody remember Hana? The sweet innkeeper lady that was really a deranged, revenge seeking psycho? Yeah that's where they came from…

As for the next chapter, it probably won't be up for another week, maybe two. I'm heading for a leadership camp that will last five days, the next day I'm going to a church youth conference out of state, and then the next day I'm going with some other teens to a water park. Busy, busy, busy two weeks. So because of that, I decided to just make this a big chapter so I can focus on packing. Don't worry though, I'll still be thinking of this story and hopefully I'll have something up no later than the first week of July. Until next time, then!


	4. Chapter 4

Don't worry, everyone, I'm still alive! Why am I so late, well after I got back from my stuff at the end of June, I came down with a major case of writer's block. By the time it passed, it was time for band camp, which really zapped my energy, and then BAM! School started! Why is there never enough time in the day to do what I really want to do Dx

Any who, enough of my excuses so let's move on to apologies: I am super, super, super sorry that y'all had to wait this long! I kept telling myself 'time to type, time to type. Come on brain don't lock up on me!' but as you can tell, it didn't cooperate until much later.

Anyway, I hope y'all don't mind this long wait and if it's any consolation, this is only half of what I managed to write! Another reason it took me so long is because I wanted to wait until I covered everything so I could back and edit anything if I needed to. So there's that and I think that about covers all my excuses and apologies.

Because I can't help myself I must ask, have any of y'all seen the "How to Train Your Dragon 2" trailer?! It's so awesome and I'm so pumped for the movie in June! Ah I can't wait! Plus the new season "Defenders of Berk" started about a month ago so I've been also obsessing over that, maybe a little too much….

Oh well I've rambled on enough so without further waiting, here's the chapter! Hope this was worth the wait.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians. The rights to the film belongs to DreamWorks and the books belong to William Joyce. This is a work of fiction and any relation to persons, places, things, or ideas is purely coincidental.

* * *

"If you keep pacing like that, you're going to create a rut in the floor," Pitch stated to Mother Nature, letting a small smirk spread across his face. A few minutes after the last Guardian had left, the woman had allowed herself to rest for a while, but couldn't keep still after five minutes. Mother Nature hated being cooped up when she felt she needed to be out an about taking care of the balance or her charges.

Casting the man a small glare, she went back to pacing beside a window while a couple of yetis watched the pair from a small distance away. Having the Nightmare King in the workshop with his wild daughter while North was gone sent them all on edge. Most of the workers had decided to move the main operations to some other rooms so the part they were in was strangely empty, except for the clatter of elves that didn't want to leave, the two 'guests', and a few other yetis that guarded the globe.

Now was a perfect opportunity to attack the workshop and destroy the Guardian of Wonder's home, but Pitch was more worried about Mother Nature to really care. He may be the personification of fear and lead a dark army of fearlings that would give nothing more than to tear apart the universe, but he was also a father, when he decided he wanted to be, which meant he would drop everything to make sure his family was taken care of.

So far, he had tried engaging the woman in conversation but was met with empty responses. Next, he complained about the season spirits who kept pestering him, which was mostly the boys, and even admitted that he missed having them sneak into his lair as he went out at nights. None of that worked so he finally decided to simply sit back and wait for her to start, adding small commentary when the silence grew too tense.

Finally, Mother Nature halted and decided to just stare out the window at the vast white landscape. As she stared, her mind starting worrying about everyone and wondering how she could help stop the other four. Taking the direct approach was dangerous, but if she didn't do something soon then everyone would be in danger.

Letting out a small groan, she rubbed her forehead with one hand while the other wrapped over to the other side. The yetis tensed up a little, expecting something to happen, but allowed themselves to breath when it was deemed safe. Pitch looked at them in slight amusement as he rose from a small chair he had been sitting in to stand by Mother Nature.

Before he could say a word she started, "Yes, I am aware that I cannot go out help. Yes, I am still thinking about disobeying you. And no, I will not just sit here waddling in worry. Anything I forgot to include?" "I was simply going to remark that you have yet to call upon your old 'friend' to help you," he answered, his tone venomous at the word friend.

"I actually was about to do so, but I have my doubts on how he can help. His concern is more on the children, mine is on the planet itself. Besides," she added, casting a glare to a slightly visible moon out the window, "I still haven't forgiven him for meddling around in my domain." Crossing her arms, she continued staring at the piece of rock knowing that its inhabitant could see her right now.

Pitch let out a small chuckle, which slightly frightened the yetis and elves, but made Mother Nature cast the man a confused look. "And what is so funny?"

"The fact that you are letting your own emotions get in the way of your job. You're usually one to push aside those feelings, but it appears that you're losing your touch and are starting to take your job less seriously."

"I know what you're trying to do, father," she commented, putting her arms down, "and I'll tell you right now that my answer is still 'no'. I have found my place in this world and am not ready to give this up just yet. Besides, Manny can't do anything right now except pass cryptic prophesies and mess around with magic." At the last word, Mother Nature's immediately shot straight up and her eyes widened as she stood still in thought.

Feeling a little worried, Pitch was about to snap the woman back to reality when he noticed a small beam of light connecting with the woman's arm at an angle. He followed the trail to find that it was a small moon beam reflecting from the middle of the Guardian's tiles. Chuckling he muttered, "It seems that Manny doesn't agree with you."

Mother Nature didn't appear to hear him and she continued staring ahead at the moon. Suddenly, the beam cut off and Mother Nature found herself back in the workshop next to a semi-worried Pitch and curious yetis and elves. When it seemed like she wasn't going to say anything, she shot off down one of the hallways that led to the older part of the building.

As soon as the pair reached the golden island, many of the mermaids and small ocean creatures turned to them with worried looks. They were already on edge because of the wind's strange behavior and the sea's distress. Even if there was a problem they rarely, if ever, bring others to Sandy's home without the old star's knowledge. It didn't ease their tension when it turned out that the visitor was one of Mother Nature's charges.

Ignoring the other's looks, Julia's companion led the summer spirit to one of the many coves surrounding the golden island and helped the girl reach the sand. "Thank you," Julia said, stepping out of the water and taking a seat on a newly formed bench a foot away. The mermaid just gave a small nod and looked back in the direction they had just come from. It was obvious to Julia that the girl was thinking of going to help her mother now that she had taken her to the island, but was fear of what she might see stopped her from heading out.

"Maris," one of the older mermaids called out, startling the pair, "Where's Meredith?" Julia had expected her companion to look away or become more saddened; instead Maris straightened up with authority.

"She stayed behind to hold back an attacker," Maris stated in a low but powerful voice. None of the others seemed taken back by the girl's change in demeanor except for Julia. "Unfortunately, I have a strong feeling that the attacker isn't too far from here. We may not be her target," many eyes turned to Julia, who turned away from their stares to look of in the distance. "But that does not mean we will allow her to harm another spirit. There's little time for a lengthy battle plan so I'll just say this: When you see her, do whatever you can to knock her down."

Without another word, the others sunk back below to water while Julia left her seat to stand near Maris. Before she could say anything, the mermaid stated, "This place is constantly changing and can form a hidden spot for you. Find one and stay-" "What?!" Julia interrupted. "Look, I may not be able to fight in the water but I am far from helpless. Besides, if that lunatic starts throwing fireballs in the water again, you'll find yourself leading nothing but roasted fish."

"I was going to say," Maris continued, slight annoyance in her voice, "find a hidden spot and stay there until you can catch the fire throwing lunatic off-guard." She let out a small laugh as Julia's cheeks turned the same color as her hair. "Look, I know you're a great fighter, but there's little you can do in the water without the wind's help. So to avoid a long and overdramatic speech about letting others help you and all that, quite yacking and- what is it?"

During their conversation, neither noticed a light colored starfish take a place between them until it started tapping on Maris' arm. The little creature lifted one of its 'arms' and pointed to a distant dot that was approaching them, fast. Maris' face hardened and she turned to Julia, saying, "Go with the starfish and hide. I'll try to signal you when it's clear to attack."

The starfish gave Maris what looked like a salute while Julia complained, "Wait a minute! Why am I getting stuck with this thing? I can find my own hiding place, thank you very much." The thing in question looked up at the red head and began shaking in what appeared to be anger. Judging from Maris' widened expression, Julia could only assume that it was saying some unpleasant things.

Frustrated at her lack of understanding, she shot the starfish a glare and said, "Oh pipe down or I'll leave you out in the sun!" "We do not have time for this," Maris muttered as the two continued to lightly bicker. "Enough. Julia, just trust me when I say follow them. As for you, do not let me catch you saying those words again. Got it?" They both quickly nodded, but went back to glaring at each other when Maris turned her back to look for the attacker. Noticing that the figure was much closer, she looked back at the pair who had quit glaring to meet her eyes. "If there are no further concerns or questions, then get out of here."

Before Julia could say anything else, the starfish latched itself on her arm and dragged her below the water. Mermaids swam past them armed with spears as the pair continued sinking down, much to Julia's uneasiness. When all they could see was the shadowed outlines of the mermaids, the echinoderm pulled her toward the island where the sand formed a tunnel for them to enter. Once they made it in, the entrance closed behind them and the water was pushed out, filling the small space with some oxygen.

She only had a second to take in a breath when the sand wrapped around them and took off in a random direction. Despite herself, Julia found her hand gently touching the starfish still on her arm to her help calm down. Being surrounded by golden sand in the middle of the ocean without the aid of the wind while avoiding a fire throwing lunatic out to kill was not helping Julia settle down her nerves about being closed in. The starfish seemed not to notice and focused on trying to find a good place to hide that was close to the others but would go unnoticed during a fight.

They had just figured out a place to go when the temperature suddenly began rising. "Looks like she's here," Julia stated, trying to stay calm. Giving what seemed like a nod, the star fish continued to let the sand take them where they needed to go. The pair found themselves being taken towards the surface and as the sand settled them in a pillar, they heard several voices scream out along with a dark laugh.

Despite the fear of what she might see, Julia gestured the sand to form a small window so they could see what was happening. As the sand fell away, she found herself holding back a yelp. They were overlooking the cove from earlier and no more than a few feet in front of their hiding spot was the blonde woman. She was soaked with water but steam was rising off of her as she looked down at the water.

Many of the mermaids lay motionless in the water, their tails speckled with burn marks that sizzled as the overheated scales made contact with the cooler liquid. The few who were still conscious, including Maris, didn't seem to possess any injuries, but Julia could tell that the warm temperature was taking a toll on them. The water they used to block a small fireball thrown their way was barely enough to extinguish the flame and they were force to dodge another attack that was thrown at them.

The attacker seemed bored with how the fight was turning out and didn't seem worried about being overpowered as she set her feet on the ground. The sand immediately tried grabbing her, but the grains pulled away as they made contact with the woman's heated up feet. Noticing this, the woman let out a twisted smile and threw another fireball at the small group as they joined back together. While it wasn't large, the weakened mermaids didn't have enough time dodge. Most of the attack was hit the spot in front of them, but the heat and the blast blew them back as steam rose up from the spot. When it cleared out, the only one still up was Maris.

"Hm, looks like you're the last one," the woman stated, taking a step towards her. Maris slowly moved back and sent a large wave of water at her attacker. Julia watched as the liquid instantly evaporated as it hit the woman and grew nervous when she couldn't make out the figures through the steam. As everything cleared up, she could see the blonde woman looking around for an absent Maris.

A slight ripple to the right of the cove caught her attention and below the surface, Julia could see Maris' frame slowly moving around. The silhouette of a head looked up at her and Julia knew that now was the time for her to attack. The woman felt the ripples make contact with her leg and just as she was about to throw another fireball at the source, Julia jumped out of the pillar and threw her own fireball at her.

The attack caught the woman off guard and made a direct hit her right arm, causing her to lose focus on the flame in hand. She let out a shout as her arm began blistering and prepared herself for another attack. As the blonde focused on her injured arm, Maris had instructed the water to wrap around the woman's legs and was about to drag her down when a sudden heat wave zapped her energy. When the water retreated back into the sea, the woman made the wind push the weak girl out of the water onto the shore where Julia was about to land.

Just as the girl's feet hit touched the sand, Maris' body smacked against her legs and caused Julia to fall on her side. Ignoring the woman's laugh and the slight pain in her side, the summer spirit turned to her unconscious friend to make sure the mermaid wasn't injured too badly. While her back was partially turned, the intruder formed a large fireball on her uninjured hand and threw it at the pair. Julia could sense the attack coming, but knew that she couldn't dodge without putting Maris in greater danger.

Julia closed her eyes and drew Maris' body closer to hers, acting as her friend's shield. Feeling the heat no more than a few feet behind her, she tightened her arms and braced for the pain that was bound to follow.

* * *

Rowan only a second to duck as a dark light sailed above his head. He glanced behind him and could barely hold down his anxiety. The light had struck the trunk of an old tree, leaving behind a large black spot that seemed to sap the life from the tree. The leaves, still a bright green, instantly turned dark brown and fell off as spot began to expand on the trunk and along the branches until all that was left was a dark skeleton.

Faint cries could be heard from the fallen leaves and the decayed tree, sending shivers down the boy's spine. As his eyes stayed locked on the decayed vegetation, Thanatos merely smiled and let the wind drop him on the ground ten feet away. When the man's feet touched the grass, it also began to wilt.

"Oh don't look so sad. It's only a few leaves and a tree," Thanatos teased, stepping on the fallen leaves. Slowly, Rowan stood back up, trying to block out the tiny cries. "How? How can you just stand there and torture life like that?!"

"Torture? My boy, I'm just speeding up the natural process of life. Nothing torturous about it." If it wasn't for the twisted smile gracing the man's face, Rowan might have believed him. "It is if you take pleasure from it."

Thanatos allowed himself to laugh at Rowan's statement, who cast a quick glance as the ground. A few feet to his left was a thick clump of trees and a small pile of rocks. His head shot back up as the man began calming down. "If you put it that way, then yes, I guess I do enjoy torturing insignificant life. Though, I still do not see whether this makes a difference or not. The one thing all life share is death, the horrible truth to the beautiful lie we call life."

"Very poetic, too bad it had to come from a shady character, like you." Rowan slowly moved a few steps to the left, making sure to keep the grinning Thanatos in his line of sight. "Your type usually only talk about grim verses like that when they're up to no good." "And let me guess, as the good guy you have a sworn duty to defeat me because I have my eyes on destroying everyone and everything you love and hold dear."

"Since you seem to understand why I have to stop you, why don't you surrender now so we can save some time? It's obvious how this whole thing is going to end and I do have a schedule I need to keep if I wish to avoid a lecture from my sister." During their conversation, Rowan managed to place himself in front of a thick group of trees and rocks.

Thanatos' head tilted in amusement as he replied, "But where's the fun in that? You strike me as a guy who enjoys games, especially if there are high stakes involved." Seeing this as an opportunity to execute his plan, the autumn spirit chuckled and said, "Technically, fun goes to my brother but I do have a slight weakness for games. Of course I prefer there to be rules and a man's word that he won't cheat."

"It seems you already have a game in mind. Why don't you explain how it goes and then I'll tell you if I agree with the 'no cheating' thing." "Alright, it's a simple game really that is much adored by children of running age. It's called tag and it goes like this: one person runs while the other tries to tag them. Once the person is tagged then they're it; but since I'm most likely playing for my life, we'll say they're dead. There's very few rules involved, but for this one I request we have a 'safe spot'. Will this clearing be alright? Since we both know where it is and all."

The older spirit merely nodded, not noticing Rowan put his foot under a small rock in front of him. "Alright then here's my last request; give me one minute to run since you appear to have the wind's reluctant assistance." "What, you aren't going to make a rule against that?" "You were going to break it anyway, so why bother wasting my time. However, I do demand a slight prize if I win." "And what would that be?" "Tell me how to release the wind from your grasp, answer any questions I have about either you or your associates, and don't try to kill me again." "I make no promises about that last part and the wind is under my brother's control, so I will be of no use to you there. I will however uphold your second request, upon my honor as a treacherous maniac," Thanatos agreed, taking a mock bow. Rowan, trying to keep his motive hidden, nodded and tried not to panic as Thanatos' face erupted in a wide smirk.

"Since we've established everything, will you give me my one minute head-start?" His answer was a dark light beginning to form in the other's hand as they said, "No." Thanatos threw the light at him but didn't notice Rowan kick a rock up to block the attack. When the two collided, the clearing lit up in a bright light, blinding Thanatos and giving Rowan the chance to quickly run into the forest. The rock began cracking until it burst into pebbles, scattering along the ground. When Thanatos' vision returned, he scanned the clearing a let a colorful word slip.

"Smart move, boy. Rocks do not really die and they're perfect for blocking, wish I would have thought of that years ago." His cheerful face suddenly fell, but his eyes stayed shining with a vicious twinkle. "Though that won't do you much good since I have little patience to stand here for one minute."

In front of him a line of leaves and grass were wilting, providing a trail for him to follow. Laughing at the boy's careless mistake, Thanatos forced the wind to pick him back up and take him above the tree line so he track where he was going.

Instead of seeing a trail of dead forest however, the whole thing was starting to die off in an even pattern until it stopped a couple of miles away from the clearing. "Hm, seems this boy is full of tricks. Unfortunately, I never was fond of being bluffed." The man scanned the area before him and saw something large moving through the branches to his right. When he saw the flash of a brown cloak disappear under a mass covering of leaves, he headed straight towards it.

Rowan watched the action from directly below the man, trying to keep his breathing slow despite his racing heart demanding he take in more oxygen. Next time he needed to be someone 350 yards away in 40 seconds, he'll just ask the wind for help. Once he was sure Thanatos wasn't coming back for a while, he relaxed. "Alright," he whispered, carefully jumping out of the tree onto the dying ground. "That should keep him busy for a few minutes."

Slowly, he dashed in the opposite direction, circling the clearing to stay under the shelter of the trees. Most of the leaves stayed quiet, not wanting to give away the boy's position, and tried their best to hang on to their old perches despite their instincts telling them to let go. Even the trees did their best to protect him by thickening their branches enough to block him from the sky. However, it also meant he couldn't find out where Thanatos was without asking them, which carried the chance of giving him away.

Eventually the forest gave way to a vast meadow that grew alongside a populated highway. Holding back a groan, Rowan complained, "Why are mortals always getting in the way?" Knowing that it would be more dangerous to put the people at risk, he walked back into the woods. He didn't notice a large branch behind him and found himself sprawling on his back, trying to hold back a shout.

"Of all the times to trip over a stick," he mumbled, giving the stick a small kick as he got back up. He dusted off some dirt that clung to his pants and automatically tried to grab his cloak. When his hands met empty air, Rowan let out a soft groan. "If that guy does anything to cloak I'm going to-"

"Going to do what, exactly?" a voice called from above. The boy quickly moved to the right just as another ball of light made contact with the ground. As the grass began to perish, Rowan lifted his head to meet Thanatos' face. The man cast him a smug look from his place on top of a tree as he held Rowan's crumbled cloak in one hand.

"Ah man, I really liked that thing," he stated, sagging his shoulders. "Oh don't worry," Thanatos started, throwing it in the dark spot from his previous attack. "You wouldn't have had time to enjoy it anyway." Once the material made contact with the grass, it instantly disintegrated until all that was left were a few strands of wool.

"Dude," Rowan complained, straightening up his back. "Do you have any idea how old that thing was?! Now where am I going to find another high quality cloak? Not everyone makes those nowadays, you know." "If all you're worried about is a piece of clothing, how about I rejoin you two."

Rowan didn't have time to move as another light was thrown at him, but he managed to grab the paintbrush behind his ear. Channeling some of his energy into the painting utensil, he made a slice motion in front of him and a thin beam of light shot in front of him. The beam cut the other light in half and the two pieces passed by Rowan, landing a few feet behind him. . "No thanks," he replied, ignoring the sound of decay behind him. "It was time for a wardrobe change, anyway."

"If you want my opinion, I think you will look good in a nice suit lying dead in a box." Before Rowan could comment, Thanatos threw another light at him. Rowan managed to slice it again, but he didn't notice that Thanatos had snuck up behind him until he felt a foot kick him in the back.

The action caught Rowan off-guard and as he fell forward, Thanatos flashed in front of him and sent a punch to his chest. The force of the punch threw Rowan against a tree, knocking even more air out of his lungs. As the boy tried to breathe, his attacker laughed in front of him. "From all that talk, I expected you to put up more of a fight."

The man went into another fit of laughter while Rowan regained his posture, his eyes hardened. Noticing the change, Thanatos stopped laughing but continued to smirk. "And what are you hoping to accomplish by that? Face it, little boy, you're outmatched. You might as well just stay still and let me end your insignificant existence. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to send your 'siblings' to you for company."

At the mention of the other three, Rowan's face tensed up and his grip slackened a little. "Leave them alone," he stated in a low voice, trying to hide his anxiety. "Ah, did I strike a nerve? I don't see why you're so worried about them anyway. It's not like you're related to them; and sooner or later, one would have tried to kill all of you anyway."

"If you hate them so much, why did you call one of them your 'brother' earlier?" The man looked taken back a little at the mention of his earlier comment. He recomposed himself, answering, "That was just a slip of a tongue. The two girls are tolerable and will follow me as long as there's something in it for them; however, the other is ruthless, cold, and an overall jerk. Currently, I cannot take him down but as soon as his back is turned, I will strike. It will be quite simple, really. Just throw him near a volcano, wait until his strength is weak, and then go for his neck. Easiest way to kill a winter spirit if you ask me."

Rowan's eyes widened at the last statement. He could never imagine himself hating Jack so much that he would kill him. Judging by the way Thanatos was speaking, it was obvious the man really hated the other spirit. Noticing the boy's expression, the other's face formed into a twisted smile and he said, "Well, well. It seems that you care deeply about your cold-hearted sibling. Quite dangerous if you ask me though, because winter spirits are the most dangerous when they snap, well there are also the summer spirits. Both are quite troublesome in my opinion. They're unwilling to compromise, lack self-control, and wouldn't hesitate to burn or freeze you just for sport. Now don't get me started on spring spirits, the little selfish, stuck up-"

"Shut up!" Rowan yelled, lifting the paintbrush up to his left side. As he swung down, a light discharged from the tiny piece of wood and hit the man's chest. Thanatos managed to stay on his feet but let out a small gasp as skin around the contact point began to sting.

When he looked back in the boy's direction, all he saw was a fist collide with his face, knocking the man back. As he stumbled, Rowan jumped up and kicked him on his wounded chest. He let the man fall on his back and gave him a second to breathe before placing one of his feet on top of Thanatos' chest.

Thanatos looked up at him, slight fear invading his eyes as he noticed Rowan's serious expression. "Don't you ever," the boy stated, brown eyes flickering with amber, "say those things about my siblings again! They're worth twenty of you on their worst days and would never purposely harm anyone."

The man looked deeply into Rowan's eyes, and suddenly smiled. "So you say, but then, why are your eyes telling a different story?" Rowan flinched, but did not let his stance slip. "They say the eyes are the window to the mind and the soul, and yours are saying you don't fully believe that about them. The fear is evident in your eyes. Sure they do possess some control of their element, but it's only a matter of time until they are overcome by their centers. For winter, the cold will encase his heart and he will no longer care about anyway. For summer, the heat will rise and spread throughout her body until she loses control. While life and rebirth are always considered good, there must be a balance between that and death. Our job is quite difficult isn't it, shepherding the season of death?"

Rowan didn't answer, but his foot did lift slightly from the man's chest. Slowly, Thanatos moved one of his arms, feeling the ground below him. His fingers brushed against something solid and he hid his excitement by asking, "You're the oldest of this group aren't you? Ah yes you are, judging by that glare you're sending me. You have those eyes that have seen almost everything in this world, the good and bad, the just and the un-just, and the birth and death. It must be sad, knowing that those closest to you will never understand what you went through, isn't it?"

Rowan mumbled something under his breath and lifted his foot off of Thanatos' chest. Without wasting another second, the man grabbed one of the boy's legs and threw the rock he found at his face. Not thinking, Rowan unleashed another of his lights and tried jumping out of the way. Unfortunately, Thanatos still had his leg and the light exploded directly in front of Rowan's face, blinding the younger spirit. The older spirit, closing his eyes to avoid the same thing, used that opportunity to push the youth off of him and shot up to his feet.

Just as his vision was returning, Rowan felt a foot kick his hands, knocking the boy's paintbrush from his grasp. Next, a fist made contact with his shoulder and knocked him back against a tree. Before he could move, a hand wrapped around his throat, making it hard for Rowan to breathe.

"Man, the good guys are always so easy to fool. Just give them a sob story they can relate to and you got them eating out of your hands. Looks like I have outsmarted you and won this little game of yours." Rowan tried pushing the man's hand off, but the grip just tightened and left him holding Thanatos' wrist. He drew his arm back and started to form his ball of light. "I'll be sure to send you some company when I'm done with you." Rowan turned his head away, preparing himself for the impact.

* * *

Before Emerald could say anything, the woman flung the vine toward the girl's throat. Thinking fast, she connected her mind with the trees and had the branches reach out and weave themselves together to form a shield between her and the vine. The vine crashed against the thin wood, sending chips flying from the impact.

As the woman focused on breaking through, Emerald called on the surrounding vegetation for assistance. The trees began growing their branches out behind the shield while large leaves sprouting along the wood. Hearing the older spirit curse after she broke through the original shield to meet another block, Emerald quietly turned around and began running.

'_Not good, not good,_' she thought, ducking her head below a low hanging branch. '_Usually when there's one murderous maniac on the loose, there's more not too far behind. I need to get help before she_-" Emerald's thoughts were interrupted as a few branches in front of her snapped in her direction, thick thorns covering them. Before she could turn around, large roots sprung out of the ground and starting twisting around her until she was in a sort of a cage.

When she tried breaking down one of the limps with her hands, thorns emerged from the wood and left little marks all over her hand. The girl clenched her slowly bleeding hands and turned to inspect her prison.

"Well that was easier than I thought," the woman's voice called out, startling Emerald. She turned to her left and saw the woman standing a few feet away, a sinister look stretching across her face. "Though I will admit, you took me by surprise back there. Very few have managed to escape me, and those that did only got past a few feet."

"So I take it you've threatened others before me then," Emerald commented, locking her eyes with her captor. She let out a wide smirk and replied, "Oh yes, many others, though I stopped counting after a while. Believe it or not it's hard remembering the faces of your victims, especially when they all share the same look of fear as their life slowly slipped away."

The younger's gasps only excited the woman up more. "I wouldn't be too worried about them, they are in the past. You, on the other hand, might want to be begging for your life right about now. Though it won't do you much good since I've made up my mind to kill you anyway."

"That leads up to my question then: Why? I don't see how I pose a danger to you, Misses-?" The woman's face began to form a glare before snapping back into her usual smirk. "Since you won't last long anyway I might as well tell you. The current name is Avalon, the one who had a job much similar to yours many, many, many years ago. Unfortunately, dear 'Mother' didn't really think me or the others were suited for it. We've been locked away for a long, long, long time but, as you can clearly see, we're free and would like to have a jobs back."

"If Mother Nature had a reason for locking you away," Emerald interrupted, ignoring the glare that was sent her way, "Then you guys must have been horrible at keeping nature and the earth balanced."

"Ah yes, the precious 'balance' that she holds so dear." Avalon lifted her hands above the spot where her heart should be and continued in mock sincerity. "That was her whole life's passion, making sure that the Earth didn't become unstable and cause harm to the mortals, especially the children. Oh how she worried greatly about the mortal children, but disregarded her own creations. Sure we weren't always on our best behavior but could you really blame us? We were created for the simple purpose of being slaves to the planet and humans. I mean really, how can we help the planet strengthen itself when we always have to worry about breaking the fragile humans?"

The woman went on about the 'mistreatment' she and the others experienced because of their different views about their jobs. While her entire being wanted nothing more than to yell at Avalon for disrespecting Mother Nature, Emerald pushed her feelings to side. She needed to keep the other woman talking so she could figure out how to escape.

When it seemed like she wasn't going to stop anytime soon, Emerald scanned her prison for any weak points. The roots themselves would not be a problem if it wasn't for the thorns that completely covered the entire surface. Even if she got past that though, there was still the little problem of Avalon standing in front of her. She was thinking about just winging everything when she noticed something above her.

Trying to be discrete, her eyes glanced at the top of her cage and noticed that the roots just twisted in a circle, leaving a small opening. Holding back a smile that threatened to cross her face, Emerald crossed her arms behind her back and feigned interest in what Avalon was saying. Not that it mattered really since she seemed to be lost in her own world.

The back part of her mind channeled itself below the soil, trying to find something that could offer quick assistance without gaining the attention of Avalon. Finally, she felt a small root located directly below her and the opening. Carefully, she connected with it and gave the root enough energy to head up to the surface, avoiding the large roots so none of them could warn the older spirit.

It stopped below her feet and grew out a stem that poked itself behind Emerald's leg. 'Almost there,' she thought, deciding to silence Avalon's ramblings. "You know," she interrupted, keeping the other's attention focused on her while the stem continued growing behind her back. "For a self-proclaimed killer, your torture technique of talking your victims to death is quite spectacular. Is that on purpose or are do you just enjoy hearing the sound of your own whiny voice?"

Taking the bait, Avalon clenched her fist and took a step toward Emerald, stopping two feet from the prison. Stretching out her hand, a wooden stick grew from the roots that acted as bars and when she tore it off, dark purple thorns rising from the wood. Emerald shifted her body slightly to further conceal the thickening stem, which was trying to best not to stretch out its wide leaves.

Needing to stall for just a few more seconds, Emerald began giggling softly, saying, "Maybe that's why Mother Nature locked you away. Your constant exhale of carbon dioxide kept killing everything." The woman's grip on her weapon tightened and the rounded end grew into a sharp point. "Enjoy your laughing, because this is the last time you'll ever get to do so." Emerald unclenched her hidden fist and let the stem glide through her hand, knowing that it was ready when she was.

Deciding that it was time to end things, Emerald let go of the stem and finished with a smirk, "Probably, because you've already used up all oxygen in the atmosphere." Emerald didn't even flinch as the spear like weapon was thrown at her, the point dead locked on her heart.

As soon at the tip flew between the bars, the thickening stem twisted in front of her, stopping the spear in its path, and shot into the opening. When the roots tried cutting it off, the stem split off and pushed the roots apart, widening the gap enough for Emerald to jump out.

She straightened herself on top of the cage and stared down at Avalon, her eyes absent of their usual playfulness. "Normally I don't hold onto grudges, but for you, I'll make an exception." Avalon returned the look with her own glare, letting herself rise up on the wind so the two were eye to eye. "You think you're so tough because you've managed to escape death a second time, don't you? This time I am going to strike you out."

"You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep." Emerald quickly dodged to her left as a shower of thorns were thrown at her, imbedding themselves in what was left of the roots and the leaved stem. She was about to launch her own attack when she noticed something strange coming from the impact spots. Looking closer, Emerald saw a purplish color spreading from the thorns onto the vegetation. As it spread, the plant seemed to twist in pain before growing its own thorns.

Noticing the girl's distracted look, Avalon couldn't help but take another moment to gloat. "Do you like them? It took me a few years to perfect that little technique but it was so worth it. I've seen many forms of life wither in pain as the poison coursed through their blood, damaging their bodies and turning their minds to sinister thoughts. Of course, the only ones I've seen survive that long is the plants. The mortals either are too weak to fight the poison off or they kill themselves to release them from the pain. You should be grateful I didn't poison the thorns in your cage, otherwise you would be on the ground right now begging for mercy."

Without saying anything, the girl connected her mind with a few nearby trees and directed them to create shards of wood along their trunks. When the woman turned to face them, she found herself in the path of the flying shards. Muttering a curse, Avalon pulled a large root out of the ground and used it to shield her back and sides as she turned back to Emerald.

The girl had only a second to breathe before she jumped away from a root that tried grabbing her leg. As soon as she reconnected with the ground however, more roots emerged from the soil, aiming for her throat. Thinking fast, she leapt on top of them as they approached her until she climbed onto a nearby branch. Channeling her mind onto the roots, she pushed away Avalon's influence and had them strike at her attacker.

Once the roots were within grabbing distance, Avalon waved her arms over them and strangler figs began to grow around them. The fig's roots began wrapping around its target, suffocating the entire thing as it spread around it. Emerald eventually lost the connection to the roots as they withered and died, leaving the girl slightly dizzy from the experience.

Despite the mental strain, she called on all of the surrounding trees to throw themselves at Avalon. Those closest to the spirit reached their branches out to her while those further away grew out their leaves, blocking Avalon's view of the sky and Emerald. A few limps managed to snag her leg and as she focused on them, more branches grabbed her arms and pinned her arms to her sides.

Emerald disconnected herself from the vegetation and quickly leapt to the ground, leaning herself against a tree to avoid falling over. Her vision was slightly spinning and Avalon's yelling began to drone out in the background. Gently rubbing her temples, Emerald let out a soft groan. 'Note to self: Don't unleash half a forest on someone without back-up.'

Feeling her head clearing out, she straightened up and was in the process of pulling back a bit of her hair when a gush of power caused her to freeze. She turned back to the other spirit to see what was happening, widening her eyes when she caught sight of a dark green light coming from the center of the mass of leaves and branches. Before Emerald could blink, a small blast of light burst from the center, sending branches and leaves flying in every direction. Emerald ducked behind a tree, pressing further against the trunk as the vegetation flew past her.

When everything settled down, she slowly glanced back from the side of the tree, not noticing that Avalon was approaching her from the other side. The woman tightened her grip on the branch in her hands, purple thorns covering the wood's surface. Smirking, Avalon drew her arm back and aimed straight for the girl's back.

* * *

Jack sent a blast of ice at Bradwr when the other started to run towards him, his arm pulled back as he prepared to slice at the young spirit. When the ice was no more than a few inches in front of him, Bradwr brought his arm back forward and slashed through the ice. As the glittering pieces flew off to the side, Jack leapt off to the side and sent another blast at him.

Bradwr once again managed to shatter Jack's attack, but didn't notice another blast coming at him. Not having enough time to counter, Bradwr crouched down to cut a circle in the ice below him and fell through in time to avoid getting hit. As the blast made contact with the frozen surface, ice quickly sprouted from the spot and filled the still air with its crackling sound.

Seeing what the other had down, Jack nervously looked around his feet and clutched the staff closer to himself. Slowly, he slid across the ice while making slow turns in case he caught sight of Bradwr before the other attacked. When the crackling of the ice from the blast stopped, the boy was highly aware that the air was tense with silence without the wind's gentle breeze flowing by.

'Just stay calm,' Jack told himself, quickly turning around and raising his staff when he heard what sounded like a faint crack from somewhere behind him. A thick surface of ice greeted his sight, its unblemished surface hardly covered by the light dust of snow. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to lower his arms and kneel down. He spread out his hand on the ground and could feel small chunks of ice breaking off from the larger sheet.

Disappointed with himself for flinching at the sound of a common occurrence, Jack stood back up and tried pushing down his growing uneasiness. 'If he's under the ice, he won't be able to launch an effective attack without cracking the ice. Just look for cracks in the ice and he won't be too far behind.' Feeling slightly better, he raised his staff back up and scanned everything with more focused eyes, making sure to keep his ears open for any cracking sounds.

Minutes dragged on and just when Jack was beginning to think that the other had run off, he felt something moving below his feet followed by a slight surge in power. The ice below him began cracking as a dark blue light shone from the water. Jack managed to leap off the side just in time to avoid a blast of ice.

Panting heavily, the youth watched as a stair like structure emerged from the water, the smooth ice taking on a dark color in its center. Bradwr calmly stepped up from the water using the stairs, frozen drops of water falling off his clothes as gravity took control. Once his feet left the water the opening instantly iced over. He took a few more steps before reaching the top of his small creation, staring down at Jack with an amused smirk.

"Nice try, but it will take a lot more than cheap tricks to stop me. Though I must say, you're pretty quick on your feet. Maybe that will prolong your life by a few minutes." When he finished talking, he stepped back onto the ice and let his creation become covered in cracks before giving it a small back kick. The shards flew off in all directions from the force, a few landing near Jack who took a quick step back to avoid them.

"Okay, look," Jack started, standing straight with his staff pointed at Bradwr. "I don't care who you are or care to know about how fate has been cruel to you. I've never messed with you and we have no natural instinct to distrust one another due to our jobs. So, why me? Why are you so bent on trying to get rid of me?"

Bradwr stared at the other for several seconds, his dark blue eyes digging into Jack's lighter eyes. Finally, he closed his eyes and let out a soft laugh, causing Jack to look at him in confusion. Wiping away an imaginary tear Bradwr looked back up and answered, "You really have no idea who you're messing with, are you? Of course, it's not your fault no one cares enough to tell you anything. You're impulsive, immature, selfish, and compared to other spirits, a mere child. Who would want to waste their time dealing with someone who makes a mess wherever-"

"Stop it!" Jack interrupted, frost quickly spreading around his feet and staff. The older spirit stared at the piece of wood in the other's clenched fists, frowning as it became covered in bright frost. "You don't know a thing about me, so don't act like you know how I feel!"

"Oh but I do know everything about you," Bradwr stated, casually waving his head to the side as ice once again coated his fingers. "At least, everything I need to know about you. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and an open book to those who know how to read them. It just so happens that I'm one of those people who are able to read them, and I do understand what you're going through."

Ignoring the small wave of deja vu that hit him, Jack leapt up and swung his staff at Bradwr, who made no motion to move. "You don't understand anything!" the boy shouted as ice blasted from the curved end of the staff. Instead of dodging, the older spirit simply raised his iced hand and caught the bright blast. Frost slowly spread across his arm, its normally clear shine slowly darkening into the same color as the slide structure.

Bradwr seemed genuinely focused with the object in his hand and didn't lift his head as Jack settled back onto the ground. "Interesting," he muttered, loud enough for Jack to hear. Slightly frustrated at the other's lack of attention, Jack shot another blast of ice at Bradwr.

Keeping his attention focused on his hand, he waved his other arm at the oncoming blast. The wind quickly picked up and wrapped around Jack's attack before launching it back at him. The boy quickly ducked and watched as it sailed above his head, crashing a few feet behind him. He stared at the growing ice for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the other, who looked up to meet his confused eyes.

"Interesting," Bradwr repeated, casting a quick glance at the object as its light slowly faded. "Your season energy is quite weak," he stated, smirking as Jack's eyes widened. "What nonsense are you going on about now? First you're out to kill me, then you claim to understand me, and now you're insulting me. Can't you just be like any other villain and tell me your evil plan for world domination or something?"

Bradwr let out a low chuckle, sending Jack's nerves more on edge. "Since I'm talking to a child, I'll try to explain myself in simple terms so you can understand." Letting out a large smirk at Jack's glare, he continued, "Yes, my comrades and I are out to upset the world balance as revenge against Mother Nature for keeping us imprisoned for all these years. The best place to start is by eliminating the current season spirits. It's nothing personal against you, really. It's just business."

Still angry at Bradwr for referring to him as a child, Jack tightened his grip on the staff and replied with a mocking tone, "You know I can't just let you go out and kill innocent people, especially children. It's nothing personal against you, really. It's just business."

"Ah yes, it always goes back to the kids," Bradwr groaned, forming ice around the object in his hand until the whole thing was incased. He lightly tossed the small ball to his other hand, smiling at something only he appeared to understand. "That was always one of Mother Nature's biggest rules: Make sure the children remain mostly unharmed. Tell me, little snowflake,"' he started, earning another glare from Jack, "why do the children matter us? Our power is drawn from nature, one of the most powerful sources of energy in this world. Only the spirits and immortals who represent abstract thoughts, emotions, and ideas require the mortal's belief to survive. So why does a nature spirit, a shepherd of a season none the less, need the children's belief? Then does that mean you're not a nature spirit? If that's the case, what are you then, Jack Frost?"

Just as he was about to answer, Jack stopped himself when he realized what the other was implying. During the first 300 years of his existence, the only purpose he really had was to help bring winter to the world. Sure there were a few lapses in the schedule, resulting in a few skirmishes with his siblings or some other nature related spirit, but all of them were needed to keep the earth balanced. Now that he was a Guardian however, there were other responsibilities placed on his shoulders. The other four had told him that a Guardian's first priority should be the children. 'Keep watch over them to make sure they're safe. Set a good example, no matter where you are because you don't know who is watching. And, stop any harm that will come to them,' was the basic motto. Of course, how could Jack always keep the kids safe when he had other places he needed to be at? How can he set a good example when his nature consisted of fun and pranks? And since he brings some of the world's harshest disasters, does that mean he's a harm to the children?

Shaking those thoughts away, Jack tightening the grip on his staff and pointed it at Bradwr, who simply looked at him in amusement. "You know I'm right, little snowflake. No matter which way you look at it, you simply cannot be two things at once. I would go on but as much fun as this has been," he added, tucking the ball of ice behind his back, "I'm afraid it's time to get rid of you."

An ice stalagmite quickly shot up behind him before shattering into small chips and shards .The wind shrieked past Bradwr and snatched up the shards, howling in protest as it was forced to aim them at Jack. Seeing what was happening, the boy swung his staff in front of him to form a thick shield of ice. While the shield managed to block the tiny projectiles, tiny cracks spread across its surface as the shards smashed against it.

Deciding to switch to offense, Jack quickly stepped to the side of the ice shield and tried sending a blast toward Bradwr. Unfortunately, he couldn't fight against the wind's force and managed to duck back behind his shield just in time to avoid being hit. As the boy tried to bite down his growing panic, Bradwr used that opportunity to shoot the ice from his fingers, aiming for the cracks across the surface. The fragments struck their marks, causing the cracks to deepen before the whole structure collapsed on itself.

Before any of the shards touched the ground, they were picked up by the wind who was forced to blow the pieces around Jack. He was about to swing his staff when several chips of ice sliced against his arm, causing the boy to let out a small cry and drop the piece of wood. Bradwr gave his hand a slight wave to the right, forcing the wind to move the staff out of the boy's reach. Jack didn't seem to notice as he crossed his arms across his face, trying to keep the sharp chips from damaging his face.

Slightly disappointed that the boy didn't put up more of a fight, Bradwr focused his gaze on the frozen ground below his captive. Large cracks formed around Jack and the surface split out until only the wind's current kept him above the now visible water. Enjoying the look of fear that flashed in Jack's eyes, Bradwr couldn't help but say, "Looks like this isn't your first time drowning, little snowflake. Don't worry though, this will definitely be your last." To keep himself from gloating any longer, Bradwr quickly cut off the wind and smiled as the boy splashed into the water.

Panic seized Jack as he struggled to swim to the surface, trying his best to ignore the sense of déjà vu that struck his entire core. His panic only increased when he saw the edges of the hole begin to thicken over, shrinking his hope of escape. As he continued trying to swim up, the water around his body started to lightly freeze into ice, clinging to his clothes and making it difficult for him to move his arms and legs. Despite this however, he kept swimming up and just as he was a foot away from freedom, the opening ice over.

Another wave of panic passed through Jack as tried banging against the ice in hopes of breaking it. Unfortunately, all that did was cause the ice to thicken up more, taking away Jack's sense of hope. Above the ice, he could see Bradwr's silhouette as the man walked right above him, which made the ice thicken up more and take on a dark hue in its center. The last reserves of his energy gave out, and Jack found himself slowly sinking away from the ice.

While Arctic Circle was still able to receive the sun's light, the dark circle above Jack cut off the star's glow. All around him he could the light brightening up the water but he had no energy left to move. His vision began darkening and his body shut down as the last of his oxygen was used up. He could faintly hear the slowing thumps of his heart echoing in his ears until all he heard was silence.

Knowing that there was nothing else he could do, Jack closed his eyes and resigned himself to death, who would probably be more than happy to collect what was originally theirs. He thought he heard a familiar voice calling out to him, but he was too tired to open his eyes and see who it was. A light seemed to surround him and the voice grew louder, reminding Jack of the night when he was resurrected from the pond by the Man in the Moon.

'_Sorry, old friend_,' he thought, not noticing a shape coming towards him, '_I've already used up my second chance_.'

* * *

And that ends the first half! So was it worth the wait or am I still going to get yelled out?... Any who thanks for reading this far and I plan on uploading the second half later today, hopefully. If there are any spelling or grammar mistakes please tell me. I self-edit and wrote most of this in the evening hours so please point out any mistakes. Thanks again for sticking and please give me your thoughts about this. Until next time, then.


	5. Chapter 5

As I promised (this time at least) here's the second half of what I've been working on. It stuck me about halfway through the first part that I'm terrible at writing fight scenes xP but I gave it my best so hopefully none of you will hurt me :) right?...

Any who in personal news: my marching band got a 1 at contest! Which is an awesome score for those who don't know how that works. Hopefully we can keep this up and move on to State Marching, or at least beat our biggest rival. If we do want to go far, that may mean a little less time writing for. Kind of stinks but it does open up so good ideas for me. How that works I don't know but it does so I don't question it.

Well I'll go ahead and end my rambling here and present you with this… page of letters that magically form into words which build up to create paragraphs that tell some type of tale.

Disclaimer: I own nor gain anything from this story. Movie rights belong to DreamWorks and book rights belong to William Joyce. This is the work of fiction and any relation to persons, places, things, or ideas is purely coincidental.

* * *

However, the pain never came. Confused, Julia quickly opened her eyes and couldn't help but let out a smile. The whole fireball was covered in dream sand and right above their heads, floated the Sandman. The small man gave her a small smile and then threw the ball at the woman, who didn't have enough time to evade the counter-attack. The force of the hit knocked the blonde into the water and clouded her vision as steam rose around her.

Julia couldn't help but laugh as Sandy made a little image of a scoreboard with the numbers 1 and 0 on it. Maris let out a small moan and slowly opened her eyes, smiling when she saw the Sandman. "You have no idea how good it is to see you, Sanderson," Maris started, beckoning to Julia to put her back in the water. "Same here, little man," Julia added, slowly standing up with Sandy's assistance and headed toward the water.

Maris let out a small sigh as the water slightly cooled her heated body. "I wish I knew who that lunatic was. I'm sure I've never done anything to make someone that mad at me," Julia commented, face in deep thought as the steam began to clear out.

Sandy frowned a little and began signing a series of images. The first was a rocking chair with a clock above it turning counter-clockwise. Next, he conjured a globe with a flame, leaf, tombstone, and icicle image surrounding it and 'blew up' the planet. After that, he signed four figures trapped in cages with a setting sun and moon above them. Then, he showed the figures breaking out of their cages and going after four images, a sun, a flower, a slightly wrinkled leaf, and a snowflake. Finally, he made a sand figure of Julia that was being consumed by a sandy fire.

The pair just stared at him for a second as his message started sinking in. "So let me get this straight," Julia said, trying to keep her voice steady. "There were four season spirits before us, they have just escaped, and now they're out to kill us?" Sandy answered her with a sad nod and Maris tried her best not to freak out at the news, too. Many stories have been passed down generations about the first seasonal spirits, and none of them pleasant.

During the explanation no one noticed the old spirit rising out of the water, except for the starfish who had unlatched itself from Julia's arm before the girl jumped and was making its way to the trio. Unfortunately, it couldn't catch any of their attention but an idea started forming in its mind when it caught sight of small stick laying on the ground. While the tiny creature dragged themselves and the stick over, Sandy and Maris tried their best to keep Julia from freaking out. Easier said than done.

"I can't believe it! First, I'm nearly killed by a fire throwing maniac. Two, I'm finding out that there's three other maniacs after my siblings. And three, my maniac decided to host a fish roast to try to get at me. Neither of you better tell me not to freak out because I can't help but freak out." The two in question flinched a little as the girl's normally orange eyes began to turn red and the sun charm around her neck glow dark red. Julia didn't seem to notice the change. "No one messes with my family and friends and gets away with it. As soon as I get my hands on her I'm going to- Why in moon's name are you poking me with a stick?!"

Three pairs of eyes looked down at the echinoderm, who quickly directed their attention toward an approaching ball of fire. Sandy and Maris were about to launch a counter-attack, but a spike in temperature beside them caused them to turn their attention to Julia. Their eyes caught a flash of yellow as it flew past their faces and collided with the fireball, effectively knocking away the flaming projectile. The two stared at an angry looking Julia, who kept her gaze focused on the floating blonde that was slowly making her way towards them. "I'll have you know, my name isn't maniac. It's Nina, not that you'll have time to remember it though."

The woman's currently orange eyes lightened to yellow as it met the striking red eyes. "Well, well," she started, stopping just six feet away from the group. "It looks like I might have underestimated you, though only slightly. I knew it was only a matter of time until you let your anger take control. Careful though, if you let your anger get the better of you, you'll end up just like me." The last statement snapped something inside Julia, and she started closing the gap between them despite the silent pleas from Sandy and Maris. "I am not, nor will I ever be anything like you. I don't try to kill others to get back at someone and I do not let my emotions get the better of me."

The pair were only one foot apart, neither noticing the mounting groans from the mermaids or how stifle the air was becoming. "Really now? Then I must be imaging these red eyes of yours. You may think that you're always in control but really, all you're doing is bottling everything. Now that might work for a while, but everything will just keep mounting up until finally, you snap." Something quickly flashed in the younger spirit's eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by Nina. "Well now, it seems you've already learned this lesson at least once. That's one thing I can't stand about good guys, they always believe they can redeem themselves, prove to others that they can trust you, but it's not the other's forgiveness you need. No, the only one that can grant you forgiveness, is yourself."

Nina's face softened a little, and she allowed herself to float down until she was only a few inches above the water. She didn't notice Julia move her hands behind her back. "I wouldn't rely too much on self-forgiveness, though. Trust me, it will never happen, believe me when I say I've tried."

Despite herself, Julia found herself believing the woman as she looked in her eyes. There was still anger and murder still present, but she could see a hint of understanding. Nina's hand slowly hovered above Julia's shoulder, receiving an accusing glare from the girl before it melted in confusion as Nina set her hand down. Sandy and Maris were about to attack when they saw Julia's hand gesture them to stop, confusing the pair.

Ignoring the others, Nina continued, "I know what it's like trying to keep an immense power in check without putting those you care about in danger. Others may trust you because you're always in control, but there's that small fear in the back of your mind telling you that you can't control it. It tells you that one day, you'll lose it and cause great harm to those you care about."

Nina lifted her other hand and placed it on the girl's other shoulder, closer to the neck. "I'm not trying to make you feel sorry for me and I won't complain that it was one of the reasons I am who I am today. No, I this isn't about me at all. This is about trying to help you, so you won't turn out like I did. While it's too late for me, it's not too late for you."

Julia allowed the other to place their hands along her neck, trying to keep her heart beat down. "Now if you'll hold still, I'll put you out of your miserable existence. All you have to do is-"

She didn't have time to finish her sentence as Julia slapped the arms away and threw a ball of fire at the woman's face. Nina quickly backed up ten feet managed to dodge it, but didn't have time to dodge a larger one thrown at her. A few sparks landed near her eyes, causing immense pain that forced her to clench her eyelids. Not wanting to open herself up for another attack, Nina threw a bunch of fireballs where she believe Julia was.

The girl easily dodged them and quickly launched her own series of small fireballs at Nina, hoping to throw her off guard. Nina, who carefully opened her eyes, slapped the flames away from her which only fueled Julia's efforts. The two continued throwing their fires at each other, Nina from above and Julia from below, and deflecting each other's attacks. Most of the flames extinguished as they were knocked away, but few still had enough power to hold their forms. Julia didn't notice that the deflected attacks were heading toward Sandy and Maris. Sandy was able to use his sand to block off a majority of the shots while Maris tried extinguishing the rest with the water until her strength left her again. Unfortunately, one of Julia's attacks escaped Sandy's notice and Maris didn't see it coming until it hit her.

The mermaid screamed as the flames made contact with the right side of her face and arm, which she had been brought up in an attempt to shield the rest of her face. The sound caught Sandy's attention and when he saw what had happened, he stretched out his sand until it was able wrap around Julia's arm to keep the girl from launching another series of flames. She struggled in the tight grip and turned to glare at the man. "Sandy?! Let me go before I-"

As her eyes saw Maris hesitantly cover her arm and try to hide the burns on her face from the other, Julia's arms went numb and hardly felt the sand let go of her. Her red eyes slowly faded back to orange and the charm dimmed. Sandy cast the girl a sad look before turning toward the mermaid. "I-I can't believe… No! I wouldn't-" "Oh but you did," Nina's voice called out from behind her. Julia only had enough time to turn around before a hand was wrapped around her throat and the wind flew them above the island. Sandy looked back to the pair and was about to go help when Maris let out a small moan of pain. The old star's head turned back and forth between the two, but he was at a loss of what to do.

"Didn't I tell you that your anger will eventually snap?" Nina taunted, tightening her grip on the struggling red head. "Of course, even I didn't think that you would hurt your friend. And the one whose mother helped you none the less." A loud chuckle erupted from her throat. "Just goes to show, we have a lot in common. Now don't give me that 'we're nothing alike' face. Look below you."

Julia didn't have the strength to fight the woman's hand when it forced her to look down. It was easy for the girl to locate Sandy, who was worriedly standing over Maris. Even from the air, Julia could clearly see the bright blisters that shone against the mermaid's skin. She flinched when her eyes saw a bright burn covering the right half of Maris' face, including over her eye. "No… I-I-I… I'm sor-… I'm sorry!"

"Too late for apologizes, I'm afraid," Nina said, holding the girl at arm's length. Her other arm was slowly being covered in flame and a murderous glint shown in her piercing yellow eyes. "Maybe you could try telling that to the girl's mother, because you'll be joining her real soon!"

As the flame covered arm was directed at her, Julia tightly closed her eyes and waited for her end. The last thought to cross her mind was, '_I swore it wouldn't happen again. Please forgive me, Maris._'

* * *

It never came and he could hear what sounding like chirping in front of him. When the hand let go of his throat, Rowan's legs gave out and he found himself sitting on the ground greedily taking in air. Above him, he saw Thanatos moving away from him. "Ah! Get off of me you stupid birds! Get- Ouch!" Thanatos shouted, swatting at mass of green feathers and chirps.

"Rowan!" a female voice called out next to him, followed by a pair of comforting hands. "We came as soon as we could! Anything broken?" The brunette turned to meet the bright, violet eyes of Toothiana that were filled with both relief and worry. Smiling, he answered, "Just my pride. It's a severe blow to a man's ego when he has to be saved by a swarm of hummingbirds and their queen." Tooth let out a small laugh but both tensed up when they heard the mini-fairies cry out.

While their ambush had managed to distract the man, they were painfully swatted away once he regained his bearings. "Stupid birds. As soon as I'm done with the boy, all of you are next." Without a second thought, Tooth dashed at the man and sent a series of punches to his already wounded chest and face. She ended by kicking Thanatos in the side and pushing him against a tree.

As the man slowly slid down, Rowan looked back at Tooth who was already flying around to make sure her fairies were alright. A mini-fairy with a golden plume and mismatched eyes gently tapped Rowan on the cheek, knocking the boy out of his daze. He looked down and said to her, "Remind me never to get on her bad side."

The fairy gave him a smiling nodded and went to join Tooth, who quickly muttering 'Are you alright?' and 'That's my girls' to the slightly stunned fairies. Rowan looked around for his paintbrush, noticing it a few feet away. As he retrieved the thin piece of wood he noticed Thanatos getting back up and preparing another attack, this time aimed at a distracted Tooth.

"Tooth," Rowan yelled, "Behind you!" The Guardian quickly turned her head just as Thanatos threw a small light at her. As soon as she saw him release it, Tooth forced her wings to flutter rapidly until the outline no longer appeared. The wings sliced the ball of light into tiny beams that vanished as soon as it flew into the open air.

As the pair focused on the immediate attack, Thanatos began launching a series of smaller lights at them, hoping to hit at least one. The mini-fairies, noticing what was happening, immediately followed their queen's example and managed to shatter the lights using their wings like tiny blades. Thanatos let out a muttered curse, much to the mini-fairies displeasure, and forced the wind to take him up to the sky where he continued his assault.

Tooth and her fairies immediately flew up and began disposing of the lights while Rowan, reluctantly grounded, took care of the ones that managed to escape them. As the halves broke off, two fairies were always there to get rid of them before it could hit the forest. Thinking that it would be easier to fight the lights off above the tree line, Rowan leapt into a tree and started climbing up to the tallest branch. Just as he poked his body out, a small group of mini-fairies blocked off a light that was heading directly toward him. Shaking a little, he went back to firing at Thanatos and the lights, not worrying about hitting the fast moving fighters since they seemed to know which ones were his and Thanatos'. Slowly, the onslaught of lights decreased.

While Thanatos was not ready to give up yet, he knew that he could not finish Rowan off with the Warrior Queen and her fairies around. He was tempted to just launch one large attack to finish them off, but he could feel his power already dwindling. Centuries of being surrounded by a forest and the attack he received from Rowan was starting to take its toll on him. He was about to retreat when a plan suddenly hit him, though he knew it would be a risky gamble.

Ignoring the small wave of pain that shot through his chest, Thanatos sent a series of larger lights to the right, gaining the attention of all of the mini-fairies except for a few that stayed by the boy and their queen. Next, he sent three large balls of light toward Toothiana, Rowan and the remaining fairies. Not expecting the larger missiles, it took the Tooth Fairy and her helpers a little more time to vanquish them and without the fairies there to get rid of the halves, Rowan's focus was on destroying the other beams of light before they hit the trees.

No one noticed that Thanatos was preparing a larger light until it zoomed past Tooth, who was halfway through getting rid of her target. When she cast a glance down the light's path, she let out a small gasp. It was heading toward Rowan, who had his back turned in order to take care of the other lights. "Rowan, look out!"

The boy had enough time to see the light coming towards him, but not enough to block and none of the fairies or Tooth would make it in time. He stayed frozen in shock as his vision turned white.

* * *

The spear was inches away from stabbing Emerald when something flew past her eyes and smacked against Avalon's hand. The woman jumped back a several feet, holding her injured hand against her chest, while the weapon spun wildly in the air. The blonde, who still had her face turned, looked back and nearly jumped ten feet as the spear implanted itself a foot away from her.

Things were just started to click in her head when the object from earlier flew by her again. Following its path, Emerald couldn't help but let out a relieved laugh. "I've never been so happy to see you, Kangaroo!"

"Wait, what did you just call me, Sheila?" Bunny asked, lifting up his arm to catch his boomerang. "Oh, sorry. Anytime Jack talks about you and it isn't serious he calls you 'Kangaroo'." Emerald let out a nervous giggle as the rabbit's face fell into a small glare, eyes not matching his expression.

The girl recomposed herself and stated to Bunny, "If you're here, then that must mean the other three are being attacked, too." "Yeah, so let's finish off this ratbag and then go help the others," he stated, pulling out his other boomerang. The spring spirit nodded and turned to face Avalon, carefully moving away from the spear while the woman stood back up.

Casting her eyes toward Bunny, she let out a long laugh. "What's so funny?" Bunny demanded, taking an aggressive step forward. "You. Last time we met you were wearing this stupid green coat and looked like a bloated egg. What happened, someone steal all your chocolate eggs? Or did someone grab your arms and legs and start pulling? No wait, Mother Nature must have waved a carrot in front of your nose and made you start running. Yes, that must be it. You were made to run like a mindless rabbit."

Through the woman's loud laughs, she managed to hear Bunny say, "And it looks like you still prefer earbashing as a torture technique." Avalon immediately stopped her laughter and glared at the pair, eyes darkening. "Don't think I haven't forgotten what you and the others did all those years ago. Once I'm finished with air-head over there," she gestured to Emerald, "I'm gonna skin your hide next."

Emerald stared at the two in confusion, catching Bunny's attention. He was about to say something, but was cut off when the ground below them began to slightly shake. They only had a second to jump back as a handful of pointed roots shot up from the ground, stopping when they reached two feet. Avalon let out a dark chuckle and unleashed another barrage of roots, causing Emerald and Bunny to become separated.

As another attack was thrown at them, Bunny threw one of his boomerangs at Avalon. Seeing the approaching weapon, the woman easily dodged but didn't see the other one until it scratched her cheek. While her attention was focused on Bunny, she didn't notice that he had quickly opened a tunnel until the rabbit appeared behind her, about to kick her in the back. Avalon managed to turn around in time to block the large leg, pushing Bunny back.

She ducked as the boomerangs returned to their owner, swinging her leg out to knock Bunny down as he caught them with one hand. While he laid still for a few seconds on his back, Avalon tried punching him in the chest, only to feel a vine wrap her arm to her side and snap off from a nearby tree. When her attention was focused on the vine, Bunny hopped back up and sent a powerful kick to the woman's chest.

The force of the blow sent her back against a tree, where the bark began to peel off and tried tying down arms. Avalon managed to move back in time and turned her focus to Emerald, who was disconnecting herself from the tree. Bunny used the distraction to throw one of his boomerangs back at her, hitting her on the left side. As she moved, a tree root picked itself off the ground and caused Avalon to trip.

As she laid there, trying to gather her thoughts, Emerald and Bunny approached her, stopping a few feet away. Bunny pointed one of his boomerangs at her and said, "Just give up, you fruit loop. We got you outnumbered and outmatched. There's no way you can win." He was about to say something else but Emerald cut him off. "Tell me who is responsible for thinking they can possess the wind."

Avalon glared into Emerald's eyes and let out a small smirk. "Why are you so worried about them? It's not like they have any feelings for you. After all, they're just thin wisps of moving air that are incapable of making up their own mind about even the most trivial of tasks. They're better off being captive where they have no need to think."

Feeling anger at the other spirit's response, Emerald's face hardened and raised her leg about to kick Avalon right in the face. Before it could make contact, Bunny pulled her back and tried to calm her down. "Hey now, don't sink down to that mongrel's level. It ain't worth."

"But she just insulted one of the oldest beings on Earth and my friend. How do you expect me to forgive her for that?" "I'm not saying to forgive her. I'm just saying don't waste your energy on this bodgy spirit. She'll get what's coming to her but for now, you need to go help the others."

Emerald was about to say something when vines started falling out of the branches, pulling the pair apart and then wrapping around them. Avalon got onto her feet, smiling at the struggling captives as small, dark red flowers started to grow along the vines. "Well this has been fun, but the others will get mad at me if I play with my prey for too long. This is the end of the road for you, blonde. And I hope you just washed your coat, rabbit, because I'll be keeping it as a souvenir."

While Bunny let out a string of curses as he tried breaking out of his bonds, Emerald stayed still, feeling as if her power was draining. Noticing the lack of response from the spring spirit, Avalon smiled saying, "Looks like this flower only works on spirits like us. What a pity, once you and the other three are gone I'll have no one else to test them on. Oh well, life is full of disappointments."

Breaking off one of the spiked edge roots, the woman looked back to the girl and drew her arm back. "While I will admit that I slightly underestimated you, I'm still a bit disappointed that you didn't put up more of a fight. I hope this hurts."

To Emerald, everything seemed to go in slow motion as she watched Avalon's arm swing down and heard Bunny's cry out. Giving herself up to fate, she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable burst of pain.

Something grabbed onto Jack's hoodie and the boy could feel himself being taken back to the surface. He heard his rescuer take in a deep breath when they broke the water surface, along with what sounded like a curse. Large hands gently wiped away some ice that had formed around his arms and set him on the ice.

Slowly, Jack could feel his fear and panic settling down as he felt the familiar rays of weak sunlight. "Jack," a whispered voice started, "please open your eyes." He let out a soft groan when he felt a hand stroking his cheek, a familiar motion that filled him with warmth.

When Jack opened his eyes he had to quickly close them again, the sunlight temporarily blinding him. A small cough racked through his body and the person beside him started gently patting his back. Slowly this time, the boy opened his eyes and let out a small smile when he saw North over him.

"Hey, North," he greeted weakly, carefully trying to sit up by himself. The older man let him go and pushed himself onto the ice as the rest of the opening closed up. North looked back to the boy, relief twinkling in his eyes, "You gave me quite scare, Jack. Thought I had almost lost you."

Chuckling, Jack managed to sit straight up as North handed him his staff. The old piece of wood looked like it could snap in North's large hand and without its layer of frost, it seemed dull and lifeless. When Jack took hold of his staff again, frost spread across its surface as power coursed through the conduct. "Much better," Jack muttered, feeling himself relax slightly at the familiar sight.

North was about to comment when his eyes suddenly widened and he yelled, "Watch out!" Without wasting a second, the larger man pulled out his twin swords and pushed Jack behind him just as a stream of ice headed was aimed at them. North crossed his swords in front of him and almost lost his stance when the ice pushed against him. Letting out a slight groan, he muttered a quick spell that caused the surrounding air to heat up rapidly. The ice quickly turned into steam, condensing into a light snow as the air cooled again.

North couldn't help but let out a small chuckle when he saw Bradwr glaring at him a good distance away. Behind him, he could sense Jack tense up and grip the staff in his fist, preparing for another surprise attack. "Easy, Jack," he muttered to the younger boy, "nothing good comes from fighting with too much anger."

Jack didn't say anything but did slightly loosen his hold. "Quite touching, snowflake," Bradwr called out, wiping away nonexistent dirt on his sleeve. "It must be nice to have a babysitter to call on whenever you find yourself at a disadvantage. Although I would never have expected a skilled bandit to watch over a weak little child."

North's usual cheery face hardened at the other's words as he recited another spell he knew. This time, cracks began forming around Bradwr as he stared at the ground in confusion. Water shot out from the openings and began spiraling around the older spirit. Compelled by instinct, he immediately started freezing the water around him but instantly regretted it when more water twirled around him and started freezing.

Off to the side, North was beginning to tire himself out and it took his full concentration just to keep the spell going. While he knew a vast amount of spells that could aid him in a fight, only a few could be used in the snowy and cold environment and they required a great deal of energy. Not wanting to stand by any longer, Jack gave North a small smile before taking a few steps in front of the man. He aim his staff at the swirling water and ice around Bradwr, noticing that North's spell was quickly wearing off.

He closed his eyes and channeled as much power as he could into his staff, feeling the old wood pulsing with energy. Just as the power was about to let itself grow out of control, Jack raised the staff above his head and slammed it in front of his feet. The ground began to rapidly shake, causing North to lose his concentration and cut off the spell, and around their opponent, the ice rose up in a thick sheet just as the water around Bradwr dropped. He let out a loud curse when he noticed what was happening and forced the wind to come aid him.

However, the ice quickly curved above him in a doom shape, cutting him off from the element and trapping him inside. A moment of panic set in when Bradwr saw sharp icicles quickly form on all sides of him. He moved to the center to avoid being immediately impaled, but knew that it was only a matter of time until they reached him. Just as a thin string of fear started setting, a quick idea flashed in his head.

Outside, Jack did his best to ignore North's deep pants and worried eyes when he saw what the boy was trying to do. "Jack, think about what you are about to do," he advised, causing the boy to slightly hesitate for a second before a determined look flashed across his face. While Jack was normally passive about dealing with other spirits, he could not calm himself when he remembered what Bradwr had done to the wind and what he was planning on doing with his siblings and the mortals.

More determined, he clenched his fist to make the ice grow faster and replied, "I already have." With that, he quickly opened his fist and didn't blink as the ice collapsed around the trapped spirit. The spikes were only centimeters from impaling Bradwr when the man's eyes started glowing a dark blue. The ice instantly emitted the same glow and parted away from Bradwr, who turned to the pair with a twisted smile.

Lifting his arm to the side, the sharpened ice focused on a worried North and a tired Jack. Bradwr brought his arm down and the ice shot toward the pair. Despite knowing that he was too drained to form a thick shield, Jack positioned himself in front of North and made an inch thick sheet of ice spring in front of them.

The force and sharpness behind the ice however reduced the wall to mere pieces and the two ended up have to duck to the sides to avoid major injuries. North's arm sported a few pieces of ice that punctured through the coat to his skin but a sharp pain came from his right side from an ice spike that formed just as he was falling. When he tried lifting himself back up, the ice sunk around his feet and North braced his arms to keep from sliding in the water. To add insult to injury, the water around his legs froze up leaving him incapable of pushing himself out. Muttering a string of Russian curses, the old warrior tried looking to Jack but couldn't turn far enough without causing pain.

Meanwhile, Jack's staff had slid away from him when he fell and his right side was covered in small cuts from the ice. As a small trail of blood ran down his arms, he bit back a moan of pain as he lifted himself up. He was so preoccupied with reclaiming his staff that his didn't notice Bradwr fly behind him until the other spirit gave a hard kick to the boy's back.

Biting back another groan, he turned enough to catch a glimpse of North's back until his hair was grabbed and he was forced to stare up at Bradwr. During the attack, small shards of ice broke off from the ice sheets and had cut his face when he wasn't paying attention. While it wasn't near as bad as Jack's or North's, a few drops of blood ran down his face and landed near Jack's terrified eyes.

"I really hate to repeat myself but this time I'm sure this is your end," Bradwr sneered, grabbing a long icicle with a thing point. He placed the weapon above Jack's throat and allowed himself to laugh at the boy's wide, scared eyes. "You could have made this easy for yourself, but I do agree this is more fun. It was nice meeting you, little snowflake, but it's time for you to go."

Bradwr raised the ice a few feet above Jack's throat and without another word, brought it down to plunge into Jack's throat.

* * *

The yetis panicked for a second before chasing after her, forgetting about Pitch who just stood staring at the floating rock. "It always has to be your way doesn't it?" The moon gave no visible response so Pitch followed his daughter, casting a glare toward the moon. As the hallways broke up, he calmly followed the sounds of chasing yetis and found himself stepping into the library hallway.

"Well this is odd," he whispered, heading for an open door where a great deal of commotion was coming from. When he entered the room, he found himself surrounded by large books whose titles revealed that he was in the midst of a library where the magic books were kept. After Santoff Clausen was built to the workshop it was now, he had tried numerous times to bust in and steal some of the many spells kept in the leather bounds. However, he eventually lost interest as he began to have a larger hold on his shadows so he pushed it to the back of his mind, trying again every once in 200 years or so to steal something but usually ending up failing.

His admiration about being there was soon caught off as he heard the yetis tried to get Mother Nature, who was running between the shelves examining book titles, to stop so there wouldn't be a trail of loose papers. Pitch was about to reach for the nearest book when he saw Mother Nature stop in front of a dusty shelf filled with thick books. She skimmed the titles for a few seconds before reaching for one stuck between two thick volumes. Its dark purple cover was covered in layers of dust and there were sounds of pages being slightly ripped due to the woman's strong grip.

The yetis approached behind her to demand what she was doing, but were pushed back as she headed toward the nearest window and set the book down on the windowsill. She opened the cover, causing more dust to fly out, and started flipping through the thin pages. In her haste a few torn papers flew out, worrying the yetis as they tried gathering as much as they could without bumping into anything else.

After many turns, Mother Nature stopped and placed her finger on the page to start reading. Curious, Pitch strolled over to her and was about to ask what was going on when he noticed the spell title: Energy Transfer and Moving Across Space. Above the woman, the dim moon cast another moonbeam down that bounced through the window glass before settling on the woman's hands. As she continued reading, the glow became brighter and Pitch had to step back a little to avoid it.

Looking to Mother Nature's face for answers, Pitch was about to ask what was happening when Mother Nature's eyes widened in concern and her body started to shake. She began mumbling to herself, most words incomprehensible except for 'danger', 'great magic', and 'no time to waste'.

Now fully worried, Pitch restrained himself from grabbing Mother Nature's shoulders and asked, "What's happening, my dear?" She didn't appear to hear him for a second, but suddenly she turned her head toward Pitch, the beam glowing a bright white. "The four of them are about to be killed, so Manny and I are about to do something that will beautify save them from the Grim Reaper but will pose some nasty side effects."

She quickly looked back to the book while Pitch quickly asked, "What's going to happen to them? What are these side effects?" Now the whole room was basically being bathed in white light, causing the yetis to shield their eyes. Pitch, flinching as the blinding light washed over him, still needed to know what was happening so he asked, "Will you be alright after this?"

Mother Nature had only a second to give the man a large smile before she exploded in a flash of light. Pitch quickly folded his arms above his shut eyes as did the yetis behind him, who had risked sneaking a small peek during the man's last question. A large breeze blew through the room, scattering books and knocking over shelves that gave off dust as it hit the ground. Loose and torn pages scattered in the air, clinging to the three occupants for a second before being blown off again.

As the light slowly faded, the breeze settled down and Pitch and the yetis brought their arms down to survey the damage around them. Books were spread across the room and loose papers continued moving until they slowly landed on the floor or fall book shelves that lay in a mess of broken wood and torn paper. Surprisingly the window and the book where Mother Nature was just a second ago stayed intact and the book was still on its target page.

The lack of the woman however sent a wave of worry through Pitch and the man was about to command the yetis to look for her when he noticed a pile of green cloth next to a fallen shelf. Slowly he approached the bundle and kneeled down next to it. Carefully, he gave the thing a slight shake and tensed when he felt movement coming from within the pile.

The yetis also approached the pile and asked each other 'what is that?' in Yetish. Pitch didn't pay them any attention as he pulled back a sheet and nearly jumped up at his discovery. "_Oh dear_," he thought, staring into a pair of dark eyes that stared back at him.

* * *

And this is where I will leave off. Now I'm not going to say when the next update will be, but I really will try to make sure it's not too long. If there are any issues with spelling, grammar, or understanding please bring it to my attention. I'm very interested in what readers have to say so please shoot me a review or message. That's all for now so until next time then!


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